Bitlayer 101 (1): What is YBTC

Welcome to our “Bitlayer 101” series! In this first post, we’re introducing YBTC, a new kind of representative BTC designed by Bitlayer to unlock the full potential of your Bitcoin.

A New Generation of Representative BTC

The world of DeFi already has representative BTC assets like WBTC and tBTC. We categorize YBTC as the third generation, setting a new standard for security and utility thanks to BitVM technology.

Unlike other assets, YBTC maintains a natural and strict 1:1 peg with BTC. This means you don’t have to worry about de-pegging risk.

How is YBTC Secured? The BitVM Bridge 🌉

The magic behind YBTC is the BitVM Bridge, a BTC bridge developed by Bitlayer.

• Trust-Minimized Minting: The only way to mint YBTC is by locking BTC through the BitVM Bridge. When 1 YBTC is minted, exactly 1 BTC is locked in a trust-minimized BitVM smart contract. Your BTC is controlled by cryptographic proof and code, not a traditional multisig wallet.
• Secure Withdrawals: To release 1 BTC, a user must present a cryptographic proof to the BitVM smart contract. This proof is verified on-chain in an optimistic way, and the withdrawal only succeeds if the verification passes. This ensures the integrity of the entire system.

Multi-Chain by Design 🌐

Many assume YBTC can only exist on the Bitlayer Network, but that’s not true!

Thanks to the advanced multi-chain architecture of the BitVM Bridge, YBTC can be securely minted and used on a wide variety of blockchains. This includes:

• Layer 1s: Ethereum, Sui, Solana, and more.
• Layer 2s: Bitlayer Network, Base, Arbitrum, and others.

Put Your Bitcoin to Work 💰

YBTC is a yield-bearing asset by nature. By minting and holding YBTC, you gain seamless access to a broad DeFi market where you can stake, lend, and earn interest on your Bitcoin.

Bitlayer is actively working with DeFi partners across many chains to push the adoption of YBTC. By integrating a more secure representative BTC, these DeFi protocols become more robust, creating a vibrant and secure market to maximize the yield potential of your YBTC.

Stay tuned for our next post in the #Bitlayer101 series, where we’ll dive deeper into what makes a “third-generation” representative BTC so revolutionary!