Web3 Teams Compete To Bring Restaking To $1.2T Bitcoin Ecosystem

DeFi developers are competing to replicate the explosive growth generated by Ethereum’s restaking sector within the ecosystem.

On May 20, BounceBit, a “CeDeFi’ Layer 1 network backed by Binance, the popular centralized exchange, published its roadmap for 2024. In the document, BounceBit said it plans to develop a “shared security client module” allowing third-party projects to utilize the liquidity deposited on the “BounceBit BTC restaking chain.”

BounceBit celebrated its mainnet launch on May 13, claiming to have amassed a total value locked (TVL) of more than $1 billion after launching an incentivized early access phase on Jan. 30.

The BounceBit chain is secured by users who stake both its native BB token and Bitcoin (BTC). BounceBit’s new roadmap seeks to expand on this with the introduction of restaking by allowing third-party protocols to harness its staking mechanism for security.

BounceBit’s roadmap also includes improving BounceBit’s Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) execution, bolstering transaction throughput, and upgrading communication between its EVM and the Cosmos software development kit.

Restaking boom

Restaking was pioneered on Ethereum by EigenLayer. EigenLayer allows Ethereum stakers to earn additional yield by simultaneously pledging their stake to secure third-party actively validated services (AVSs) while also securing the Ethereum network. However, restakers incur additional slashing risks, meaning their stake will be diminished should delegated AVSs misbehave.

EigenLayer has surged to become the second-largest DeFi protocol with a more than $15.3 TVL. The protocol’s growth was recently buoyed by the explosive rise of liquid restaking tokens (LRT) protocols, which reduce the technical barriers to participating in restaking and enable additional yield generation by allowing users to remain liquid.

Projects tap Babylon as middleware for Bitcoin restaking

BounceBit is not the first project aiming to bring restaking onto Bitcoin, with several projects leveraging Babylon, a Cosmos-based Bitcoin staking network, to develop BTC-based restaking products.

Babylon is a Cosmos-based network allowing Bitcoin holders to “stake” their BTC to secure Proof-of-Stake (PoS) networks in exchange for yield.

On May 16, Mind Network, a restaking-focused Layer 1 network, announced a strategic alliance with Babylon. Per the deal, users will be able to secure Mind-based sub-networks by staking Babylon-based LRTs.

On May 2, Bedrock, an LRT protocol, launched uniBTC, a Babylon-based Bitcoin liquid restaking token. UniBTC allows BTC holders to participate in Babylon staking without locking up their assets, meaning holders can remain liquid while securing PoS chains.

On April 1, Lorenzo protocol similarly unveiled stBTC, a Babylon-based Bitcoin LRT.