Project Introduction
BOB (Built on Bitcoin) is the first Bitcoin L2 with full EVM compatibility and native Bitcoin support, enabling everyone to build and innovate on Bitcoin. BOB supports all Bitcoin use cases and experiments
At its core, BOB leverages the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) to create and execute smart contracts, ensuring compatibility with existing developer tools, wallets, and key block explorers and data analysis infrastructure.
BOB's core values include supporting experimentation and innovation, ensuring real-world impact, and providing freedom of choice. The project is still in its early stages, but an early Alpha version has been released, and research and development and experimentation will continue in the future, including new ways to trustlessly bridge between Bitcoin, Ethereum, and multi-chain ecosystems.
How it works
Merged Mining
The BOB project's merged mining technology is a key mechanism that allows Bitcoin miners to support the BOB network at the same time without incurring additional costs. The main advantage of this technology is that it can utilize existing Bitcoin mining resources while enhancing the security of the BOB chain.
EVM Compatibility
The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility of the BOB project is one of its core features, enabling it to support the running of smart contracts and the development of complex decentralized applications (DApps). This feature greatly expands the capabilities of Bitcoin, transforming it from a platform primarily used for value storage and simple transactions to a richer and more diverse application platform.
Cross-chain functionality
The cross-chain function of the BOB project is one of its core features, which greatly enhances the interoperability between the Bitcoin and Ethereum ecosystems. By implementing cross-chain technology, BOB can not only support seamless transactions between Bitcoin and Ethereum, but also link to other EVM-based networks.
BOB as the center of DeFi
Using BTC L1 as a trust anchor to create an interoperable DeFi ecosystem is the core advantage of the Hybrid L2 design. Rather than dispersing BTC L1 liquidity across dozens of chains, BOB will centralize liquidity around BTC, providing a truly viable alternative to centralized exchanges and putting BTC at the center of DeFi.
Team financing situation
Dominik Harz is the co-founder and CTO of Interlay and BOB. He holds a PhD in Computer Science from Imperial College London, where he previously worked as a research assistant.
Alexei Zamyatin is the co-founder of Interlay and BOB and was previously a researcher at SBA Research. He is a PhD candidate at the Center for Cryptocurrency Research and Engineering at Imperial College London, UK, where his research focuses on blockchain security and interoperability.
BOB received a $10 million seed round led by Castle Island Ventures. Other participants include Mechanism Ventures, Bankless Ventures, CMS Ventures and UTXO Management, as well as angel investors such as Dan Held and Domo, the creator of the BRC-20 token standard.
Project Advantages
1. Security
BOB uses Bitcoin's Proof of Work (PoW) security model and provides the same level of security as Bitcoin through merged mining technology. This means that any attempt to attack BOB must also be sufficient to attack Bitcoin itself, which is almost impossible in practice because Bitcoin's network is currently the largest and most secure PoW network.
2. DeFi and Smart Contract Applications
BOB not only supports basic Bitcoin transactions, but also enables complex financial tools and services (such as lending platforms, automated market makers (AMMs) and stablecoins) to be implemented on Bitcoin through smart contracts. This expands the scope of Bitcoin's application and makes it a more comprehensive financial solution.
3. Innovative financing and community incentive mechanisms
The BOB project encourages community participation and network growth through integration points and airdrop mechanisms. These incentives not only increase user participation, but also help maintain and develop the BOB ecosystem.
4. Open and scalable architecture
BOB's architecture is designed to support future upgrades and expansions, including support for new cryptographic primitives and technologies such as zero-knowledge proofs and off-chain computing solutions. This ensures that BOB can adapt to future market needs and technological developments.
in conclusion
BOB Hybrid L2 solves some of the most pressing challenges in building a decentralized financial system on top of BTC L1. It provides the necessary infrastructure to enable a broad range of users to join BTC L1 without relying on centralized service providers by creating a BTC bridge that inherits the security of BTC L1 and maintains trust minimization. At the same time, BOB prevents the fragmentation of BTC liquidity through trust-minimized bridges to Ethereum and other smart contract L1 chains, and provides a practical, BTC L1 security-based solution to the long-standing cross-chain interoperability problem, making BTC the core of DeFi.