BOB (“Build on Bitcoin”), the hybrid chain combining Bitcoin’s security with Ethereum’s DeFi innovation, has enabled native BTC on its network with a new BitVM bridge testnet launch supported by leading institutions and DeFi players, including P2P.org, Lombard, Solv Protocol, Amber Group, Ankr, RockawayX, Fiamma, UTXO Management, Luganodes & SatLayer. Following the testnet, the BitVM bridge and native BTC will go live on BOB mainnet in Q4 2025.
The launch solidifies BOB as the gateway to Bitcoin DeFi by making native BTC, not wrapped representations, available to their extensive Bitcoin DeFi ecosystem. Unlike other Bitcoin variants currently used in DeFi, which rely on centralized custodians or multisigs, BOB’s BitVM bridge uses fraud-proof “1-of-N” security to provide Bitcoin security guarantees. Just as ETH remains “ETH” on Ethereum rollups like Optimism and Arbitrum, BTC on BOB remains native and simply called “BTC.”
All testnet partners are members of bitvm/acc, the working group dedicated to taking BitVM from research to reality. Together, the group is already contributing and actively shaping the product by running or spinning up BOB BitVM nodes to support the testnet trials. This is needed because BitVM technology advancements alone aren’t sufficient to drive adoption — active participation and operational support by large scale institutional and DeFi players are needed too.
This also marks the first time partners outside the BitVM Alliance, a research and development collaboration of leading BitVM builders, are running BitVM infrastructure, demonstrating that these bridges are viable, practical and have the support of industry leaders.
Alexei Zamyatin, co-founder of BOB and founding member of bitvm/acc said: “Our vision has always been to put Bitcoin at the heart of DeFi, and BitVM makes that possible. With native Bitcoin on BOB, just called BTC and secured by Bitcoin without needing to trust a third party, we expect to see Bitcoin DeFi explode. This is why this new partner testnet launch incorporates a wide variety of partners – institutions, infrastructure, LPs and DeFi protocols – as BitVM presents huge opportunities across the board. I would like to give special thanks to our bitvm/acc partners Amber Group, Ankr, ChorusOne, RockawayX, UTXO Management, viaBTC, and Wintermute for their support and feedback on BOB’s new design for the BitVM bridge.”
Ryan Chow, Co-Founder & CEO of Solv Protocol said: “Joining bitvm/acc and participating in BOB’s new BitVM testnet release is a natural extension of Solv’s mission: to unlock real yield on native Bitcoin assets. We believe BitVM represents a path to trustless BTC DeFi, and BOB’s testnet is the first proof point. BitVM’s trustless architecture aligns perfectly with our goal: enabling institutional-grade yield, built entirely on Bitcoin’s terms and bring that yield to Bitcoin.”
Artemiy Parshakov, VP of Institutions at P2P.org said: “At P2P.org, we’ve always believed that Bitcoin’s potential lies in its ability to serve as the foundation for decentralized finance, not just as digital gold sitting idle. BOB’s BitVM bridge represents a fundamental breakthrough – finally allowing native Bitcoin to participate in DeFi without the trust assumptions that have held the ecosystem back. We’re excited to contribute our infrastructure expertise to this testnet because we see BitVM as the missing piece that will unlock trillions in dormant Bitcoin liquidity.”
As the hybrid chain, BOB fuses the strengths of the Bitcoin and Ethereum networks to provide a gateway to Bitcoin DeFi. This unique hybrid model allows for some substantial improvements on existing BitVM bridge designs:
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Ethereum-Based Data Availability: Uses cheaper Ethereum blobs for fraud-proof data access rather than relying on Bitcoin for data storage. BitVM on BOB, therefore, inherits the same censorship resistance as Ethereum rollups like Arbitrum or Base.
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Splitting the operator role in two: Operator Nodes handle computation and Operator LPs provide BTC liquidity for withdrawals. This system mirrors proof-of-stake systems, allowing role specialism that matches institutional offerings, enhancing efficiency and lowering capital barriers.
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Collateral Re-use: Based on the research by Citrea and CommonPrefix, BOB is allowing BTC collateral to be re-used by operators for multiple BitVM instances, dramatically improving scalability.