On December 20, the hybrid Layer 2 project BOB (Build on Bitcoin) announced a partnership with the Bitcoin ecosystem protocol Fiamma, and the two parties successfully tested the first trust-minimized Bitcoin cross-chain bridge prototype driven by BitVM, significantly improving the security and decentralization of Bitcoin cross-chain, accelerating the implementation and application scenarios of the Bitcoin ecosystem.
BOB is a hybrid L2 platform that combines the security of Bit and the flexibility of Ethereum smart contracts. It supports the Bitcoin ecosystem, including Ordinals, Lightning, and Nostr, with the aim of improving the usability of Bit and expanding its functionality. BOB's vision is to use the most secure L1, BTC L1, to ensure security, and create a trust-minimized bridge to connect BTC, ETH, and other L1 blockchains using this security. Therefore, the Hybrid L2 does not rely on third-party bridge tools to achieve interoperability, while also solving the problem of fragmented BTC multi-chain liquidity.
Fiamma is a leading BitVM developer and ZKP (Zero Knowledge Proof) infrastructure company in the Bit ecosystem, aiming to transform Bit into a dynamic asset in a trust-minimized manner and build a decentralized internet and financial system on Bit.
The successful testing of the cross-chain bridge prototype means that BOB will be one of the first L2 solutions to inherit the security of Bit and be able to develop prototypes based on BitVM. BitVM is a revolutionary system that allows developers to run complex contracts on the Bit network without any forks or protocol changes, unlocking new use cases and scalability for Bit.
It is well known that existing Bit cross-chain bridges often rely on centralized entities, such as Wrapped Bit (wBTC) and Coinbase Wrapped Bit (cbBTC), or semi-trusted networks (such as tBTC), and the security of these cross-chain bridges depends on the honesty and cost of malicious behavior of these centralized entities, with certain centralized single-point risks. In contrast, the BitVM cross-chain bridge introduces a superior security mechanism: as long as the BTC L1 is secure and there is at least one honest node in the network that can execute on-chain disputes, users can safely deposit and withdraw BTC.
BOB co-founder Alexei Zamyatin is a co-author of the BitVM 2 technical whitepaper and a core research contributor to the BitVM protocol, providing BOB's team with unparalleled insights into the security and scalability potential of BitVM in the Bit ecosystem.
Alexei believes that "the security of Bit and the trust-minimized Bit cross-chain bridge are the two most fundamental differences between Bit L2 and other L1 and EVM-compatible chains. This security from the most powerful and decentralized network of Bit, combined with a cross-chain bridge that allows secure access to Bit without relying on any third party, will form a perfect combination. However, this has not yet occurred, as almost all Bit cross-chain bridges on the current market are trusted multi-signatures. It was not until the emergence of BitVM that we finally had a blueprint and prototype, and researchers can now realize this goal through BitVM 2."
"The security of Bit and the trust-minimized Bit cross-chain bridge are the two most important pillars of Bit L2, which were previously seen as an unattainable Holy Grail by industry developers, but now we can achieve this through Bit Staking and BitVM 2," Alexei concluded.
To accelerate the implementation and application of BitVM 2, BOB has successfully partnered with Fiamma. Fiamma is one of the pioneers in using BitVM 2, including the first BitVM bridge and the first Bit verification layer supported by BitVM, and they have jointly deployed critical cross-chain bridge infrastructure and tested early versions of the validator software to verify BOB's consensus. After the release of this trust-minimized Bit cross-chain bridge prototype driven by BitVM, BOB plans to launch the BitVM bridge on the BOB testnet in early 2025, followed by relevant audits and ecosystem partner integration, and then push for the official mainnet launch.
Fiamma co-founder and BitVM core contributor Cyimon Chen said, "We are pleased to announce our collaboration with the BOB team, and we are very grateful for the valuable insights provided by Alexei and his team. We look forward to integrating the BitVM Bridge into BOB's hybrid L2 network, making it the first BTC L2 with a trust-minimized cross-chain bridge. We hope that the BOB BitVM bridge prototype will be the most impressive collaboration result after our strategic partnership."
After the official release of the BitVM cross-chain bridge prototype, BOB users will be able to securely deposit and withdraw BTC without relying on third-party institutions. Users can securely lock their BTC on the Bit mainnet and mint fully fungible ERC 20 bridged BTC on the BOB chain, and they can redeem their Bit at any time using the bridged BTC. Ideally, the one-way bridging process will take less than an hour, much faster than the current Ethereum L1 or L2 Bit bridges.
In addition, BOB recently announced plans to integrate the Bit security network Babylon, bringing Bit finality into the hybrid L2 model, and the two parties will leverage their respective advantages to integrate the Bit security network, bringing Bit finality into BOB's hybrid L2 network. Trust-minimized cross-chain bridges and Bit finality are important components of BOB's hybrid L2 model, aiming to combine the security and liquidity of Bit with the innovation and multi-functionality of Ethereum DeFi, making BOB the "home of BTC DeFi". This successful Bit cross-chain bridge prototype test has officially launched the second phase of BOB's roadmap, which will become an Ethereum L2 with Bit finality, leveraging the greatly enhanced security and trust-minimized BitVM BTC cross-chain bridge and native ETH cross-chain bridge to faster extract BTC.
Since its inception, BOB has been committed to promoting the thriving development of the Bit ecosystem, with its BTC DeFi total locked value (TVL) exceeding $200 million, including BTC LST assets supported by liquidity aggregation platforms such as Lombard, Solv, Bedrock, and PumpBTC. In addition, BOB's one-click Bit staking product BOB Stake will allow millions of users to easily stake their BTC assets in DeFi with just one Bit transaction, through integration with third-party staking service platforms such as Staking Rewards, Pell, Xverse Earn, and Everstake.
About BOB (Build on Bitcoin)
BOB (Build on Bitcoin) is a hybrid Layer-2 network that combines the advantages of Bit and Ethereum, aiming to become the "home of BTC DeFi". The unique Hybrid L2 model integrates the strengths of the two ecosystems - the security and dormant BTC capital of Bit, as well as the DeFi innovation and multi-functionality of Ethereum. By positioning BTC as the cornerstone of a new decentralized financial system, BOB can unlock new use cases and trillions of BTC liquidity. BOB uses the BitVM protocol to perfectly inherit the security of the Bit network and create trust-minimized bridges between BOB, Bit, Ethereum, and other L1 networks. Therefore, the Hybrid L2 does not need to rely on third-party cross-chain bridges to achieve interoperability, easily concentrating liquidity around the Bit network instead of being fragmented across multiple chains.
BOB is supported by leading investment institutions such as Castle Island Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Ledger Cathay Ventures, and IOSG.
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About Fiamma
Fiamma aims to transform Bit into a dynamic asset in a minimally trusted manner and build a decentralized internet and financial system on Bit. With the support of top investment institutions Lightspeed Faction and L2 Iterative Ventures (L2 IV), Fiamma is committed to leading Bit ecosystem innovation through two infrastructure solutions, Fiamma Bridge and Fiamma Layer, which are the first products to realize BitVM 2 in the Bit ecosystem. In the future, Fiamma will continue to research innovative protocols to solve the programmability gap of Bit, enabling Bit to expand in a minimally trusted manner and interact seamlessly with programmable blockchains.
