Speaking at Money 20/20 in Amsterdam, Rootstock Labs’ Ricardo Castro highlighted the Bitcoin Layer-2 protocol’s focus on providing global access to decentralized finance (DeFi), especially in emerging markets.
Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) are the two largest decentralized networks out there, each with unique strengths. BTC is known for its strong security standards, while Ethereum's blockchain emphasizes functionality and utility through smart contracts.
For years, developers have tried to reconcile the two concepts and create a network that can run decentralized finance solutions on top of Bitcoin's blockchain. Rootstock Labs says it has achieved just that, giving Latin American users and cryptocurrency participants in general a secure, bitcoin-backed smart contract platform.
According to Castro, the protocol houses more than 2,000 bitcoins, valued at more than $141 million, supporting the development of decentralized finance and liquidity for decentralized applications (dapps) on the layer 2 sidechain. The chain uses a native token called RBTC, linked one-to-one with Bitcoin to validate the transaction.
DefiLlama data also confirmed that there is more than $203 million in total value locked on Rootstock, including more than $15 million in stablecoins. Castro told the audience that the company will continue to support innovation around Bitcoin's intelligent communication capabilities to bridge the gap between Bitcoin and Ethereum's offerings.
The startup has a combined multi-million dollar prize pool for developers, and has already issued more than 100 grants in the past 12 months, according to the CEO.