The momentum created by a string of new innovations on Bitcoin have driven builders and users alike to the L2 ecosystem. In the past few months, a multitude of L2 projects began development to account for the influx of users looking to engage with everything from the Ordinals ecosystem to new tokens and technologies appearing on Bitcoin.
This enthusiasm for Bitcoin L2s has, in large part, been spurred by the Asian market, which has been the center of the crypto landscape for the last decade. The continued growth of the Bitcoin ecosystem as a whole will also depend on the builders and users located in the APAC region that have spearheaded crypto’s expansion over the years.
It will also depend on building better L2s for Bitcoin users.
Our CEO Muneeb Ali and VP of Product and Operations, Rena Shah, rang in Q2 2024 by engaging with audiences at a string of key crypto events in Asia that began with BUIDL Asia in Seoul.
Innovating on the Bitcoin L1 and Bitcoin L2s
Today’s crypto landscape has evolved into a full-fledged ecosystem that gives users multiple avenues to put their assets to work. DeFi protocols, NFT marketplaces, and Web3 social platforms are just some of the options users can explore with the tokens and collectibles at their disposal along with a solid wallet.
But what many users don’t know is that a good number of the crypto-centric use cases they enjoy today actually originated on Bitcoin. As Muneeb emphasized in his BUIDL Asia keynote, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), stablecoins, and ICOs all started on Bitcoin. However, the challenges of building on the Bitcoin L1 motivated developers to take their ideas to newer blockchains like Ethereum and Solana.
This means that while Bitcoin has a market value of over $1 trillion, much of that remains untapped. Additionally, less than 1 percent of BTC is being actively deployed.
Rena Shah speaks on a panel about Bitcoin L2s at Hong Kong's Web3 Festival
Our main goal at Trust Machines is to make Bitcoin more programmable and, as a result, more accessible to users who want to do more with their assets. This vision has led us to champion Bitcoin L2s since their inception, and the world has followed suit with the APAC region as one of the biggest leaders.
Rena’s keynote appearances at the Bitcoin Layer 2 Conference, the Web3 Festival, and the first Oak Grove Crypto summit in Hong Kong only reinforced the importance of strengthening the L2 infrastructure for everyone, including Ordinals collectors, Bitcoin stablecoin enthusiasts, and even miners looking to adapt to the changing Bitcoin landscape.
Expanding Stacks and the Bitcoin L2 Ecosystem
But as we’ve mentioned before, Bitcoin layers are still very much in their infancy. During a fireside chat at NEAR Protocol’s Chain Abstraction Day, Muneeb emphasized that a number of L2 projects – including Lightning and Stacks – are undergoing upgrades that are meant to improve the Bitcoin L2 experience for users. The Stacks Nakamoto upgrade, for instance, will bring faster block times and 100 percent Bitcoin finality, both of which builders will need to develop additional use cases on Bitcoin.
Ultimately, giving users a seamless, accessible L2 experience will be key to growing the Bitcoin ecosystem. “I think when people start with a really good L2 experience and that’s their first onboarding to Bitcoin versus Bitcoin L1, they’re going to see a massive difference,” said Muneeb.
Improving Bitcoin L2 infrastructure will, after all, lead to more use cases being built on Bitcoin. Rena alluded to this in a Bloomberg Technology interview live from Hong Kong, emphasizing the advantages that a strong Bitcoin L2 ecosystem could bring not only to Trust Machines’ products, but also to anyone building decentralized applications on Bitcoin.
“All of the value is what we see on the surface, but the untapped potential of a $100, $200 billion dollar market is below the surface,” she told Bloomberg’s Caroline Hyde. “And we are just scratching the surface with new layered technology on Bitcoin.”
The Global Narrative on Bitcoin L2s
The arrival of spot Bitcoin ETFs, new technologies (including Runes), and anticipation around the upcoming halving event have helped the Bitcoin network maintain its momentum.
Call it a Bitcoin Renaissance, call it Bitcoin Season 2; either way, the Bitcoin community is growing every day thanks to the builders and users engaging with the space. Trust Machines is on a mission to build the largest ecosystem of products on Bitcoin, and L2s are key to accomplishing our vision.
To learn more about Leather and our other applications, please visit our Products page. If you’re new to Bitcoin L2s and the BTC ecosystem, be sure to visit our blog and Learn Center for additional content.
