Original - Odaily
Author-Kate
The good wind helps me reach the sky with its power
The year 2024 is destined to be anything but ordinary for Bitcoin and its ecosystem.
Since last year, Inscription has led the Bitcoin ecology to set sail; in January this year, the passage of the Bitcoin spot ETF gave the market a shot in the arm; this month, the price of BTC stood at the US$70,000 mark, and people will raise prices in response to the halving The history of Bitcoin will be repeated again; the halving in 23 days (expected to be on April 21) will reduce the block reward from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC, triggering a demand shock.
While Bitcoin has attracted much attention due to its halving, its ecological projects may receive BTC overflow value. A number of high-quality projects are also focusing on the opportunity of the halving node, releasing major updates, and are ready to take off.
In this article, Odaily will take stock of the popular projects in the BTC ecosystem and their recent big moves, so that readers can plan in advance and seize the opportunity.
Merlin Chain - Unlocking pledged assets
As a popular project of BTC L2, Bitcoin’s native second-layer networkMerlin ChainThe highest TVL in March reached $29.04 million (According to DefiLama data）。
On February 28, Merlin Chain launchedMerlins Sealstaking activity, through which users can accumulate M points by pledging various assets to obtain Merlin Chain’s governance token $MERL. The Merlin Chain governance token $MERL awarded in this staking event is 20% of the total supply, which is said to be the highest proportion of staking rewards among all Layer 2 projects. On March 19th, Bitcoin second-layer network Merlin Chain was announcedM-Token is officially launched, this token is a mapped asset generated by users staking tokens in Merlin Chain. It is used to experience products and interactive protocols in the Merlin Chain ecosystem, improve asset utilization and witness ecological development.
The pledged assets of users participating in Merlins Seal are expected to be unlocked in April, at which time users can unlock the original pledged assets by destroying the corresponding mapped asset M-Token. At that time, M-Token can be exchanged for the original assets at a ratio of 1:1.
At the same time, according toOfficial staff revealed(@cyy7025219), MERL token plans to complete a release before the halving in April.
Stacks - Nakamoto upgrade
StacksIt is a smart contract layer on Bitcoin. The initial version was launched in 2021 and has long-term top capital support behind it. The community is always built with a long-term mentality. With continuous accumulation, its ecology has begun to improve, and TVL has grown month by month, reaching a peak of over 170 million US dollars (According to DefiLama data）。
The most exciting news for Stacks this year is probablyNakamoto upgrade (Nakamoto upgrade). After the upgrade, Stacks will be significantly faster, with block times reduced to 5 seconds (currently about 10 to 30 minutes), and will support sBTC.
Stacks is available to the public on March 26thStart Nakamoto testnetPreviously, Stacks co-creator Muneeb Ali said that the Stacks Nakamoto upgrade will be launched between April 15th and 29th. The boot contract required for the Nakamoto upgrade is ready.
The upcoming Nakomoto upgrade in Q2 will produce faster blocks and further improve security. It is expected to significantly improve the DeFi experience and attract more liquidity.
B² Network - Mainnet launch
B² NetworkIt is a Layer 2 solution on Bitcoin. It mainly uses zero-knowledge proof verification commitments to be submitted to the Bitcoin network, allowing challengers to initiate fraud proof challenges, in order to achieve the purpose of using the strong consensus of the Bitcoin network to ensure the security of the B² Network. . Officially led by HashKey Capital, OKX Venture, Waterdrop Capital, etc., it has been clearly stated that 10% of the token rewards will be used to incentivize early users, of which 5% will be mining rewards, and the other 5% will be distributed in the form of airdrops .
In early February, B² Network launched a user incentive campaignB² Buzz, users can recharge assets from early February to three days before the mainnet goes online to obtain parts for assembling mining machines that can mine B² native tokens. During the event, all funds are securely managed through multi-signature methods. According to official news (to be checked), parts production will end on March 31. Bridge assets can be withdrawn to the deposited Tier 1 network in April 2024.
The mainnet is expected to launch on April 3.
BounceBit - Mainnet launch
BounceBitIt is a DeFi solution designed specifically for the Bitcoin ecosystem, powered by AUCTION and based on BTCB. The solution adopts an asset-centric strategy, with the core asset being BTCB, a BEP 2/BEP 20 asset pegged 1:1 to Bitcoin and locked on the Bitcoin blockchain. By leveraging the broad familiarity of the Binance user base and the intuitively designed BNB chain, BounceBit significantly lowers the barrier to adoption for users. This approach opens up more accessible avenues for a broader participation and investment in the crypto ecosystem.
BounceBit plans to launch the testnet in March, launch the mainnet on April 23, conduct an airdrop in May, and open BounceBit point redemption and asset withdrawal functions at the same time.
Runes - Mainnet launch and large-scale airdrop
Runes, the Bitcoin runes, were proposed by Casey Rodamor, the creator of the Ordinals protocol, and the solution was called Runes. Runes aims to provide a user-friendly, UTXO-based alternative to existing tokenization protocols such as Ordinals, ORC-20, BRC-20, and Stamps. Runes are unique, fungible tokens that exist on the Bitcoin blockchain. They are designed to represent fungible assets with unique characteristics and metadata.
Casey previously stated at the Taipei Blockchain Week event that the Runes protocol mainnet will be launched at the Bitcoin block height of 840,000, probably in late April. What’s interesting is that it may be a way to build momentum for the mainnet launch in advance. On March 26, Casey was on the X platformPost a message to express, if the Runes ecology does not reach a market value of US$1 billion in the first month after its launch, he is prepared to commit suicide. This comment triggered a spread among netizens.
Various projects in the Runes ecosystem are also taking advantage of this opportunity, hoping to attract a wave of popularity. Among them, the Runes Chinese community has listed a list of projects that you can pay attention to. Odaily introduces two popular projects here:
List connection:https://twitter.com/RunesCN/status/1768177337261297808
Runecoin (@rune_coin)
RSIC was airdropped on a very large scale. Holding RSIC will be rewarded with rune tokens, and the transaction volume will be large.
Runestone rune stone (@LeonidasNFT）
It has been very popular recently, and a large-scale vacuum is about to be carried out.
On March 9, the largest Ordinals inscription to date, the Runestone, was successfully auctioned for 8 Bitcoins ($544,713). Its founder, Leonidas, a well-known Ordinals V, said, “All proceeds from the auction, together with the 2.25 Bitcoins previously raised in the industry through Twitter, will be used to pay for the network fees of the Runestone airdrop plan. The largest Ordinals airdrop in history is about to begin. Turn on.
The much-anticipated Bitcoin halving is coming. At this opportunity, who will stir up the BTC ecological enthusiasm again deserves continued attention.
