Merlin Chain has recently announced that Bitcoin holders can now stake their assets and benefit from high-yield DeFi protocols. This innovative protocol has witnessed a whopping $13 billion in Bitcoin being either deposited or withdrawn from its network in just the past 45 days. Merlin Chain, designed as a Bitcoin Layer 2 (L2) solution, aims to address the issue of limited yield options for Bitcoin holders on other chains.
In a significant move, over $700 million worth of BTC has been transferred from Merlin to Layer 2 networks to provide additional incentives during this period. Merlin Chain is committed to offering Bitcoin holders lucrative opportunities to stake their assets and earn staking rewards or access various DeFi services.
Utilizing a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, coupled with advanced DeFi integrations, the network strives to offer Bitcoin holders the same benefits enjoyed by Ethereum investors, such as staking rewards, liquidity mining, and yield farming. To earn yield on their BTC, users must bridge their assets to the network using the Merlin Bridge, locking up their BTC on Layer 1 and generating gas BTC that can be staked in Merlin’s PoS mechanism.
By staking with M-BTC, Bitcoin holders can acquire SolvBTC tokens, enabling them to leverage DeFi services through platforms like Solv Protocol. This provides opportunities to provide liquidity, earn yields across various DeFi protocols in conjunction with Merlin, explore lending, borrowing, derivatives, and other DeFi primitives using their BTC holdings.
In an effort to enhance security through its PoS mechanism, Merlin Chain has partnered with top crypto custodians and institutions, including Fireblocks, Cobo (Asia’s largest custodian), Ceffu, and investment firm Antalpha from Bitmain. To further bolster participation, Merlin Chain has collaborated with over ten leading industry players.
Founder Jeff of Merlin Chain recognizes Bitcoin as one of the best-performing assets of the past decade. However, BTC holders have been missing out on yield opportunities. The team is excited to finally offer incentives for Bitcoin holders to participate in the dynamic DeFi ecosystem and start earning rewards.