BOB”Build on Bitcoin”(), a hybrid layer-2 platform leveraging Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies has made a major step by testing the first BitVM powered Bitcoin bridge prototype. The production prototype was developed with Fiamma in partnership and will minimize trust in BTC bridges. Doing so marks a milestone in the chain’s scaling — with bitcoin, the asset, at the center.
BitVM bridges stand out from existing solutions like wBTC or cbBTC — which rely on centralized entities — and from semi-trusted models. BitVM is a secure system which allows BTC to be deposited and withdrawn as long one participant behaves honestly.
“Bitcoin security and trust-minimized BTC bridging are the two most important pillars of Bitcoin L2s,” Alexei Zamyatin is a BitVM2 and BOB contributor.
It is anticipated that the prototype bridge will go live on BOB’s Testnet by early 2025. This will be followed, after an audit process, by the mainnet. BOB has also revealed plans to integrate its network with the Bitcoin staking service Babylon, with a goal to be able to claim to be a Bitcoin secured network.
Bitcoin Scaling Preferences
This open Wiki forum for signaling upgrades to Bitcoin’s soft fork reflects the need for a growing community consensus around covenants, such as OP_CAT. Zamyatin and other developers have commented on the proposals. Zamyatin for instance has rated OP_CTV as “Weak,” When signaling “Evaluating” For OP_CAT. This will indicate areas that need more discussion.
Zamyatin believes that the forum has value because it brings rationales together in one location, and takes discussions off of social media.
“It makes it easier to evaluate proposals, summarize pros and cons, and have meaningful discussions,” He told Blockworks.
Signaling has shown that opinions are divided: While OP_CTV is gaining moderate acceptance, OP_CAT remains a contentious issue. Zamyatin noted that reaching broad consensus is becoming more challenging as Bitcoin adoption rises.
For BOB and the wider Bitcoin ecosystem, these upgrades could eventually enable more advanced capabilities, including native zk-verifiers — a vital step toward scaling Bitcoin securely.
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