Bitcoin, often vouched as the “digital gold,” is undeniably the most widely adopted cryptocurrency in the world. Its decentralized nature and immense hash power contribute to its unparalleled security, making it a stable platform for building applications. However, Bitcoin has limitations, such as the lack of advanced smart contract capabilities, slower block times, and high network fees, which are major roadblocks to its global adoption and use in cases beyond being a store of value.
BTCfi represents the next evolution in the financial landscape, harnessing the power of Bitcoin to create innovative decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions. Core has emerged as one of the leading blockchains seeking to unlock the full potential of BTCfi. By providing robust tools and an extensive ecosystem, Core empowers developers to build cutting-edge financial applications that drive adoption and transform the utility of BTC. In this blog, we will explore what BTCfi is and how Core Chain is positioning itself at the forefront of this groundbreaking movement, setting new standards for innovation and efficiency in the BTCfi world.
What is BTCfi?
Imagine Bitcoin as a powerful, secure vault in a bank—virtually impenetrable and extremely reliable for storing valuable assets. While it excels in keeping your wealth safe, it lacks the flexibility and features needed for more complex financial services like automated transactions or loan processing. To unlock its full potential, additional infrastructure and tools are required to enable these advanced functionalities. This is where the concept of BTCfi comes into play.
BTCfi represents a new paradigm in decentralized finance, utilizing the robust security and trust of the Bitcoin network while offering innovative financial products and services. It combines the best of Bitcoin's reliability with the flexibility and programmability of decentralized finance, aiming to create a financial ecosystem that is both secure and versatile.
In simpler words, BTCfi is like transforming your secure vault into a high-tech, automated financial hub. It provides Bitcoin holders with access to decentralized revenue streams while maintaining full control over their BTC balance, filling the void left by Bitcoin's limited functionalities.
Core: Bringing Bitcoin to Life with BTCfi
Now, envision Core as the sophisticated digital infrastructure that supports this transformation. Core integrates seamlessly with your high-tech vault, adding layers of advanced smart contracts, faster transaction processing, and lower fees. It brings to life the concept of BTCfi, unlocking over $1.3 trillion in Bitcoin value and ushering in a new era of decentralized finance.
Core unlocks BTCfi through several innovative features. Satoshi Plus, the consensus mechanism of Core, helps Core to leverage the inherent security of Bitcoin as well as infuse the flexibility and innovation required for modern financial applications. This powerful combination aims to revolutionize the way we interact with Bitcoin, transforming it from a mere store of value into a dynamic financial ecosystem.
Transforming Bitcoin: Core's Key Innovations for BTCfi
Core rides the crest of innovation with a range of pioneering features propelling it to the forefront of ecosystems unlocking DeFi for Bitcoin. These advancements open a landscape of opportunities for Bitcoin holders, positioning the Core blockchain among the leaders in transforming the financial potential of Bitcoin.
Core is not just another blockchain, it is rather built to merge the capabilities of two pioneering powerhouses in the blockchain domain — Bitcoin and Ethereum. It's like transforming a secure vault, traditionally used for storing valuables, into a versatile financial hub. The goal is to merge the battle-tested security of Bitcoin with Ethereum’s flexibility and innovation of building dApps. This fusion aims to provide a platform that not only safeguards assets securely but also empowers developers to explore new realms of DeFi, dApps, and utility use cases of Bitcoin.
Core is the first turing-complete Bitcoin-aligned EVM-compatible Layer-1 blockchain. As per the time of writing, with more than half (~56%) of Bitcoin mining hash power and over $269 Million worth staked Bitcoin already contributing to its security model, Core is designed to be Bitcoin's complementary and hyper-scalable smart contract platform. Some of the key innovative features offered by Core are as follows:
Satoshi Plus Consensus Mechanism: Core blockchain’s revolutionary consensus mechanism, Satoshi Plus, integrates three foundational elements: Delegated Proof of Work (DPoW), Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS), and Non-Custodial BTC Staking. This mechanism harnesses the collective power of Bitcoin miners, Bitcoin holders, and CORE token holders to secure the Core network. By enabling the staking and delegation of hash power, BTC, and CORE from these participants, Satoshi Plus fortifies the Core network with a robust and diverse security model.
Full EVM Compatibility: Core has EVM as its smart contract execution layer making it completely EMV-compatible, thus increasing the interoperability with the EVM-based chains.
coreBTC: Core-native wrapped bitcoin (coreBTC) acts as a representation of Bitcoin on the Core Chain. coreBTC can be envisioned as the bridge between Bitcoin and Core’s world of DeFi.
CORE Staking: leveraging the Proof-of-Stake fundamental of Satoshi Plus, Core allows the staking of its native token, CORE. CORE holders actively contribute to the network's security and governance through staking their CORE tokens.
Non-Custodial BTC Staking: Core’s most unique offering is the first-ever implementation of Non-Custodial BTC Staking using Bitcoin native functionalities with no new trust assumptions. Through this feature, BTC holders can stake their assets onto Core securely without the need for movement or wrapping and giving up control of their assets. This innovative feature integrates Bitcoin into Core’s DeFi landscape, enhancing liquidity and enabling Bitcoin holders to earn staking rewards in the form of CORE. Furthermore, it is also possible for BTC to be restaked on partnering blockchains through BTC re-staking.
stCORE: This is the liquid staking receipt of CORE, representing staked CORE tokens on the Core. stCORE allows token holders to maximize their CORE asset potential with greater flexibility, efficiency, and ability to use stCORE in Core’s DeFi landscape all while earning staking rewards.
Riding on Best of Both Worlds: Interoperability with Bitcoin and EVM-Chains on Core
Seamless Integration with EVM-Chains
Core aims to be the bridge that provides interoperability between Bitcoin and the EVM-chains. Due to being completely EVM compatible, Core enables seamless integration and porting of Ethereum-based protocols while fostering cross-chain communication.
Non-Custodial BTC Staking Opening the Gate of BTCfi
Through the pioneering feature of Non-Custodial BTC Staking, Core revolutionizes blockchain interoperability by empowering Bitcoin holders to use their assets on Core blockchain without relinquishing control over their original holdings.
Additionally, through leveraging the hash power of bitcoin miners through the DPoW aspect of Satoshi Plus consensus mechanism, Core allows bitcoin miners to delegate their hash powers to validators on the Core network.
coreBTC Unlocking BTCfi: Core bridge allows access to coreBTC, a representation of Bitcoin on the Core, by bridging your Bitcoin directly onto Core Chain’s BTCfi ecosystem.
Core Bridge: Seamless Multi-Chain Asset Management
Core bridge is one of the most valuable tools in the Core ecosystem. It enables bi-directional transfer of tokens, including BTC, between Core and other blockchains like Ethereum, BNB Chain, Avalanche, Polygon, Arbitrum, and Optimism. Through this multi-chain feature, Core bridge allows users to effortlessly manage and move their assets across the multi-chain ecosystem, granting them a smooth and uninterrupted DeFi experience. Additionally, the integration of the LayerZero Protocol, which is a standardized message transfer protocol, enables fast and secure transactions under a unified standard across blockchains.
Empowering Innovators: Core’s Developer Support Initiatives
Core Foundation is committed to nurturing a dynamic developer community within the Core ecosystem by offering a variety of support programs aimed at empowering builders at every stage of their journey. These initiatives are crafted to provide not just financial backing, but also technical guidance, mentorship, and immersion in a vibrant community of like-minded individuals passionate about advancing the DeFi landscape. Here’s a closer look at the developer programs Core Foundation offers:
Core Academy: is a free education platform aimed at providing knowledge about blockchain and cryptocurrency in general and the fundamentals of Core.
Core Ambassador Program: is an initiative to develop the Core ecosystem by offering career opportunities to individuals from diverse backgrounds, including academia, the Web2 and Web3 industry, and social media influencers. This program enables talented individuals to become the voice of Core and contribute to its vision and growth.
Core Starter Program: is an initiative designed to ignite innovation in the blockchain space by providing developers a headstart for building on Core. Its main objective is to provide developers with the essential resources to explore new horizons in blockchain technology.
Core Ventures: is a $200M program intended to support ambitious, early-stage startups. Its mission is to accelerate the growth of Core blockchain and BTCfi.
Core Wishlist: the wishlist presents the developers and innovators with the list of most demanding and innovative development tracks upon which they can propose and refine their most ambitious and groundbreaking ideas to expand the growth of the Core ecosystem. It serves as a catalyst for advancing the capabilities and functionalities of Core, aiming to push the boundaries of blockchain technology and BTCfi.
Core Foundation Grants: is a grant program aimed at empowering and supporting talented developers, teams, and projects committed to advancing the Core Ecosystem. Two kinds of grants are offered under this program - Builders Grants and Growth Grants. Builder Grants are designed to support early-stage projects. Whereas, Growth Grants are tailored to assist projects that are already part of the Core ecosystem and are looking to scale.
Core Ignition Builders’ Incentive Program: is a 12-month program with a monthly prize pool of up to $400,000 CORE distributed across different performance metrics including TVL, DAU, and transaction count. The program is essentially designed to reward and empower builders contributing significant contributions to the growth and activity of the Core ecosystem.
Hackathons and Workshops: To foster a dynamic and active developer community Core Foundation actively hosts several series of hackathons and workshops aimed at fostering innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning. Currently, Core Foundation is hosting one of the biggest BTCfi hackathon with a prize pool of $250,000. It is also hosting a series of university roadshows across universities around the world.
Developer Tooling Landscape
The developer tooling landscape of Core is designed to empower developers with the necessary infrastructure, support, and incentives to innovate in the BTCfi space effectively. By offering comprehensive tooling, interoperability solutions, staking capabilities, educational resources, and developer incentives, Core Chain is paving the way for the next generation of decentralized finance built on the security and scalability of Bitcoin.
In terms of tooling tech stack, Core’s aim is to ensure a low barrier to entry for both experienced and new developers, promoting ease of use and rapid deployment of blockchain solutions. By being EVM compatible, Core allows developers to work seamlessly with most of the tooling landscape of Ethereum.
One of the key benefits of Core's EVM compatibility is the ability to use the Solidity programming language for implementing smart contracts on the Core blockchain. Solidity, widely used for Ethereum smart contracts, enables Solidity developers to start building on Core immediately and benefit from its robust infrastructure without having to learn a new programming language. This feature significantly lowers the barrier to entry, allowing Solidity developers to start building on Core immediately and benefit from its robust infrastructure.
Other than this, libraries like OpenZeppelin Contracts, Web3.js, Ethers.js, etc. are easily usable with smart contracts for Core blockchain. This compatibility ensures that developers can leverage well-established tools and frameworks, facilitating a smoother development process. Core also supports some of the most renowned integrated development environments (IDEs) such as Hardhat and Remix. These IDEs provide comprehensive development environments tailored to blockchain development, offering features like debugging, testing, and deployment tools that enhance developer productivity and streamline the development workflow.
In summary, Core's EVM compatibility and support for Solidity, along with its integration with widely-used libraries and IDEs, provide a familiar and powerful environment for smart contract development. This promotes ease of use, rapid deployment, and a lower barrier to entry for developers transitioning from Ethereum or starting fresh on the Core blockchain. By transforming the development experience into a well-equipped, intuitive, and supportive environment, Core enables developers to innovate and build the future of BTCfi with confidence and efficiency.
core developer tech stack
Conclusion
Core is revolutionizing the Bitcoin ecosystem by bridging the gap between Bitcoin’s robust security and the dynamic possibilities of decentralized finance. Since its mainnet launch, Core has demonstrated exceptional growth and solidified its position amongst the leading ecosystems working to unlock the BTCfi landscape with innovative opportunities for the BTC holders. Through innovative features like BTC Liquid Staking, multi-collateral coreBTC, wrapped BTC staking, and BTC-based staking rewards, Core further aims to enhance the utility and flexibility of Bitcoin. The Satoshi Plus consensus mechanism and full EVM compatibility further position Core as a leading platform for developers and users alike. With continuous improvements and a commitment to fostering a vibrant developer community, Core is poised to unlock new utility use cases for Bitcoin, transforming it into a versatile and powerful asset within the DeFi landscape. These initiatives reflect Core’s dedication to continuous innovation and its vision of creating a more integrated and expansive blockchain ecosystem. Other than its cutting edge features, Core also offers several different developer support programs that provide comprehensive support and resources to foster innovation. Core's commitment to continuous improvement underscore its potential to drive the future of BTCfi, making it the best choice for developers and innovators in the blockchain space.