Cardano is set to make a major breakthrough in blockchain interoperability, looking to unlock Bitcoin’s $1.3 trillion market by becoming a smart contract layer for the Bitcoin network.
This will happen through partnership with BitcoinOS (BOS), a system that integrates smart contracts into Bitcoin’s ecosystem. EMURGO, one of Cardano’s main development entities, revealed this in a press release today.
The announcement, which came up following a disclosure at the ongoing Cardano Summit 2024, highlighted that Cardano would now offer decentralized finance (DeFi) developers access to Bitcoin’s liquidity and assets without needing intermediaries.
Trustless Bridging Between Bitcoin and Cardano
Interestingly, the collaboration will leverage the BOS Grail bridge, a protocol that will facilitate a secure and trustless link between Bitcoin and Cardano.
As it taps BitcoinOS’s zero-knowledge (ZK)-based BitSNARK verification system, this bridge ensures that Bitcoin transactions and assets can be seamlessly integrated into Cardano’s ecosystem. This means that developers on Cardano can now utilize Bitcoin’s liquidity.
BitcoinOS has been pioneering scalability and programmability on Bitcoin’s network. Its use of ZK proofs allows developers to directly embed data from other blockchains into Bitcoin transactions.
In May 2024, BOS made headlines when it verified the first ZK proof on Bitcoin, demonstrating that rollups on Bitcoin were now possible.
Cardano strengthens its position in the DeFi space by enabling the trustless flow of Bitcoin assets into its ecosystem. Notably, projects like Fluid Tokens will benefit from this, as users can now securely use Bitcoin assets through Cardano dApps.
The collaboration with BitcoinOS seeks to enhance cross-chain interoperability. This marks an important moment for Cardano, as it becomes the first Layer-1 blockchain to leverage BOS’s technology. The move allows Cardano to integrate with Bitcoin without altering the core architecture of either chain.
Industry Reactions
Ken Kodama, founder and CEO of EMURGO, noted that the partnership could strengthen Cardano’s ecosystem. Cardano will fuel further innovation in decentralized finance by giving users and developers direct access to Bitcoin’s capital.
Cardano’s environmentally friendly, proof-of-stake network has already attracted over 1,370 Web3 projects, including several DeFi platforms. With this new development, the platform could see even more growth as projects gain the ability to integrate Bitcoin without third-party intermediaries.
Edan Yago, CEO and Co-founder of BitcoinOS, emphasized that this integration with Cardano shows what is now achievable on Bitcoin.
Sheldon Hunt, Head of the Cardano Ecosystem at EMURGO, noted the groundbreaking nature of the partnership in a post on X. He revealed that native, trustless interconnectivity would link ADA and BTC, allowing Cardano to serve as the smart contract layer for Bitcoin.
Cardano and Bitcoin are bridging.
Native, trustless, interconnectivity will link ADA and BTC, allowing for Cardano to be the smart-contract layer of Bitcoin.
Get ready. We’re set to change the whole game 🚀 pic.twitter.com/PG63mJErBB
— Sheldon Hunt 🛡️ (@_MrHunt_) October 24, 2024
This move comes a month after a Bitcoin developer unveiled a bridge that would allow the interoperability of the Bitcoin and Cardano networks. In June, RosenBridge also introduced a bridge connecting Bitcoin, Ergo and Cardano ecosystems.
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