Written by: TechFlow
Recently, Messari, a top crypto research institution, released its annual report (The Crypto Theses 2025), conveying a positive attitude towards the prospects of Bitcoin in 2025: BTC will mature as a global asset.
BTCFi has become the clear hot narrative for 2025.
When talking about the current BTCFi landscape, liquidity staking, which is committed to bringing more capital-efficient native returns to BTC Holders, is an important sector that cannot be ignored.
With the launch of the latest BTC LRT product brBTC and the approaching token TGE, the multi-chain and multi-asset liquidity staking protocol Bedrock has further come into the public eye.
It is reported that in the latest round of financing held in May this year, Bedrock attracted support from well-known institutions and industry leaders such as OKX Ventures, LongHash Ventures, Comma3 Ventures, and Babylon co-founder Fisher Yu.
On this important occasion, we had an in-depth dialogue with Bedrock's core contributor Zhuling.
In the conversation, Zhuling, who is very adept at peeling back the layers from a global perspective, introduced us to Bedrock's overall product planning in the BTCFi field:
uniBTC is the pioneering BTC LRT asset based on the Babylon narrative in the BTCFi 1.0 era; the uniBTC Vaults, which aim to provide users with a simple and intuitive yield acquisition channel, represent our strategic upgrade of BTCFi 1.0; the newly launched brBTC, as a pioneering product of the BTCFi 2.0 era, represents our deep thinking about the future of finance.
When it comes to the expectations for 2025, Zhuling does not hide his optimism for BTCFi:
After witnessing Bitcoin break the $100,000 mark, we believe this is an important signal that the bull market has truly begun. BTCFi will soon enter a new phase, which we define as BTCFi 2.0.
As for brBTC, Zhuling also detailed its important position in Bedrock's overall planning for BTCFi 2.0:
True yield diversification is the core advantage of brBTC. Through intelligent dynamic asset allocation strategies, it can not only provide users with higher quality returns but also lower the participation threshold, helping BTCFi achieve scalable development.
Read the full article to learn more about the highlights of the conversation.
BTCFi 2.0 is accelerating its arrival, and Bedrock, as a leader in the liquid staking track, has core advantages.
TechFlow: I am very glad to have the opportunity to have an in-depth exchange with you. First, please introduce yourself (you can share some of your past educational experiences, work/startup experiences, and your connection with Bedrock).
Zhuling:
Hello everyone, I am Zhuling, a core contributor of Bedrock. I am very glad to have this opportunity to communicate deeply with you.
As a technical expert with an overseas engineering background, I have deeply participated as a consultant in several innovation projects for central banks and financial institutions. Based on my strong interest in cutting-edge technology and innovative business opportunities, I joined an overseas blockchain startup team and have continuously participated in the design and development of a hardcore public chain.
My first encounter with staking yields originated with the birth of the first-generation PoS public chain, where I saw a unique and innovative yield model in the blockchain. Staking yields are similar to government bonds and are the most native yield of blockchain.
In the past five years, I have been deeply involved in staking services for mainstream public chains such as Ethereum and have witnessed Ethereum's historic transition from PoW to PoS. I believe that in the current blockchain ecosystem, financial applications dominate, and staking yields, as a purely on-chain native yield, have become a core pillar of DeFi.
Therefore, at the beginning of this year, I joined the Bedrock project as an early contributor. This project aims to integrate the three most promising asset categories in the current blockchain field: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and DePIN (IOTEX), releasing their inherent value through innovative liquid staking mechanisms.
TechFlow: The liquid staking track is crowded, but Bedrock still ranks among the top. Can you share with everyone the impressive achievements and key data that Bedrock has achieved in the past?
Zhuling:
Overall, Bedrock's current TVL is approximately $508 million, with over 114,000 staking users. Specifically, as a multi-chain multi-asset liquid staking protocol, Bedrock's past achievements can be sorted from different ecological dimensions.
Firstly, in the Ethereum ecosystem, Bedrock launched uniETH a year ago. As an institution-level liquidity restaking token based on EigenLayer, uniETH is the only protocol in ETH that supports native ETH and realizes full-process smart contracts. From the first day of its launch, uniETH supports unstaking, and all smart contracts have undergone multiple security audits, aiming to help users choose the best validating nodes and obtain optimal yields. Currently, the staking volume of uniETH exceeds 29,010 ETH, with nearly 10,000 staking users.
Subsequently, Bedrock also launched uniIOTX, which quickly developed into the largest staking entry on IOTX. Currently, the staking volume of uniIOTX is nearly 450 million IOTX, with nearly 15,000 staking users.
This summer, the emergence of Babylon has shown us the value of BTCFi, and the liquid staking Bitcoin uniBTC, launched in technical cooperation with Babylon, is a key layout for Bedrock in the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Talking about the impressive data achieved by Bedrock in the past, the deep cooperation with the Babylon ecosystem is an unavoidable topic. Currently, Babylon staking has gone through three phases. In the Cap-1 phase of Babylon staking, Bedrock (ROCKX) emerged as a dark horse in this quota battle, staking the most BTC, accounting for nearly 30% of Babylon's initial staking total.
The success of Cap-1 did not stop us from thinking. Instead, we observed many pain points from the user level, such as the serious compression of user points earnings from participating in Babylon staking. Therefore, in the Cap-2 phase of Babylon staking, Bedrock has done a lot of work to ensure that BTC stakers receive the highest Babylon points. Ultimately, we achieved very good results, with Bedrock stakers receiving and distributing a total of 5,854 Babylon points in this phase, ranking first among various Bitcoin staking protocols. This strategy, which starts from maintaining the interests of users, has also received widespread positive feedback from the community.
In the recently concluded Cap-3 phase of Babylon staking, whether in terms of TVL or Holder data, Bedrock still performed strongly. However, as the Bitcoin ecosystem develops, we gradually realize that BTCFi should have more possibilities for deepening development beyond Babylon. With market catalysts such as Bitcoin breaking through the $100,000 mark, we sense that BTCFi 2.0 is accelerating its arrival. There is still much we can do, so while participating in Cap-3 staking, Bedrock's focus has shifted more towards the new LRT product brBTC, aiming to provide BTC users with better yield strategies.
TechFlow: Compared with other competitors in the track, what unique advantages do you think Bedrock has achieved its success?
Zhuling:
Firstly, I believe that Bedrock's biggest differentiating advantage compared to other liquid staking projects lies in its unique positioning. As an industry-leading multi-asset Restaking protocol, Bedrock is dedicated to providing users with comprehensive staking solutions, aiming to redefine the future of digital asset staking.
Secondly, the impressive data currently achieved by Bedrock is inseparable from the resource support brought by our project background, including deep cooperation with ROCKX and Babylon.
As we all know, Bedrock was born from RockX. As a blockchain platform that has been deeply involved in the staking track since 2019, RockX has a total staking value of over $2 billion and more than 150,000 registered users.
As one of the first projects to enter the BTC Restaking track and a pioneer in the Babylon ecosystem, Bedrock has excellent backing and resource support. In May this year, Bedrock received investment support from well-known institutions and industry leaders such as OKX Ventures, LongHash Ventures, Comma3 Ventures, and Babylon co-founder Fisher Yu, and subsequently reached a technical cooperation with Babylon, rapidly developing within the Babylon ecosystem.
Positioning and resource support are important, but the hard power of the product itself is also very important. The core concept of Bedrock's product design is to put users first, understand user needs, and iteratively refine products, continuously exploring product and technology development. We oppose the notion that BTCFi is solely a game for big players, and we have always been committed to allowing more users to enter BTCFi, promoting the large-scale adoption of BTCFi, and providing them with more convenient entry points, diverse usage scenarios, and simplified optimized yield strategies. For example, uniBTC is the BTC LRT with the widest and most comprehensive DeFi user scenarios, supporting 13 chains and over 30 DeFi scenarios, and can provide users with APY yields as high as three digits, which has also received widespread acclaim in the market.
Last but not least, Bedrock is committed to building a complete ecological chain through a diversified product portfolio, including uniETH, uniIOTX, uniBTC, uniBTC vaults, and brBTC, continuously constructing a more open and efficient digital asset staking ecosystem, providing users with better staking services and richer application scenarios.
From uniBTC to brBTC, a panoramic view of Bedrock's BTCFi planning.
TechFlow: In the year 2023, when the heat of the Bitcoin ecosystem narrative just began, Bedrock had already focused on key layouts around BTCFi. How did you and your team keenly perceive this trend? How do you personally view the current status and future prospects of BTCFi?
Zhuling:
Although the Bitcoin ecosystem narrative has just emerged in 2023, we believe that 2024 will be the true inaugural year of BTCFi. In that year, we will truly see many of the Bitcoin ecosystem's ideas begin to take shape, such as the Ordinal and Rune boom.
By the second half of 2024, the market will see the full bloom of BTCFi, with sub-narratives such as Restaking / Lending / BTC L2 / BTC Stables all on the rise. The Babylon ecosystem has led everyone to achieve success in the first phase of BTCFi. At this stage, I believe no one will say that Bitcoin does not need an ecosystem.
At the same time, we also believe that after witnessing Bitcoin break the $100,000 mark, this is an important signal that the bull market has truly begun. BTCFi will soon enter a new phase, which we define as BTCFi 2.0.
Entering 2025, BTCFi will have more surprising performances, and according to our observations, the relevant trends of BTCFi are becoming obvious:
On the one hand, BTC holders can have more sustainable, stable, and diverse yield strategies.
On the other hand, the entry threshold for BTCFi will be lower, with not only a simplified participation process but also greater flexibility for user participation.
Most importantly, the competition in the future BTCFi track will no longer be a one-horse race, but rather a closer cooperation among everyone while further optimizing and developing.
This is our relevant judgment about the market, and in the future, Bedrock will continue to work on these aspects.
TechFlow: Based on the deep cultivation of the staking track and observations of the Bitcoin ecosystem, what is Bedrock's overall vision and product planning for BTCFi?
Zhuling:
In the current market environment, we have observed that users' demands for BTCFi products are undergoing profound changes, transitioning from a pursuit of simple yields to a comprehensive consideration of sustainability, innovativeness, and ecological value in BTCFi products. This shift marks that the entire industry is moving towards a more mature development stage.
BTCFi is not just an emerging track but an inevitable choice for the evolution of the Bitcoin ecosystem. It will become an important link connecting traditional Bitcoin holders with the next generation of financial innovations, opening a new era of Bitcoin value release.
Looking forward to 2025, we firmly believe that BTCFi will usher in a qualitative leap and officially enter the 2.0 era. This will not only redefine the development trajectory of BTC L2 but also inject revolutionary innovative power into the stablecoin system and staking economy, ultimately building a more inclusive and scalable Bitcoin financial ecosystem.
As a pioneer and explorer in the BTCFi field, Bedrock has always adhered to the core philosophy of 'Connecting, Innovating, Empowering,' dedicated to building a bridge that connects Bitcoin's native value with future financial innovations. We must not only accurately grasp user needs but also stand at the high point of industry development to lead the future direction of BTCFi.
Based on this vision, we have built a comprehensive product matrix:
uniBTC: As the pioneering BTC LRT asset based on the Babylon narrative, uniBTC redefined the Bitcoin yield ecosystem. This is not only a milestone product for Bedrock in the BTCFi 1.0 era but also a perfect answer we provided in the Babylon era, gaining widespread recognition and trust from users.
uniBTC Vaults: This is our strategic upgrade of BTCFi 1.0, creating a one-stop yield aggregation platform to achieve intelligent liquidity optimization across ecosystems. This product disrupts the complex operation mode of traditional DeFi, providing users with simple and intuitive yield acquisition channels.
brBTC: As a pioneering product of the BTCFi 2.0 era, brBTC represents our deep thinking about the future of finance. It not only integrates diversified Bitcoin derivative assets and restaking protocols but also constructs a truly cross-chain value network through innovative economic model design. Through dynamically optimized asset allocation strategies and diversified financial application scenarios, brBTC is reshaping the future landscape of Bitcoin finance.
We can say that our strategic layout for BTCFi is already very clear, and what we need to do next is to present higher quality products and continue to optimize products based on community feedback.
TechFlow: Based on your introduction, brBTC is a key layout for Bedrock in the BTCFi 2.0 phase. Can you provide us with more detailed information and planning about brBTC? What are its unique advantages? How will brBTC interact with uniBTC and the broader ecosystem in Bedrock's overall planning for BTCFi?
Zhuling:
From the perspective of product evolution, uniBTC and uniBTC Vaults, as our core products in the BTCFi 1.0 era, have successfully created the first bridge for users to enter the Bitcoin financial world. The launch of brBTC marks our formal entry into the BTCFi 2.0 era. In the first phase, brBTC will be launched on Ethereum and BNB Chain. In the second phase, more chains will be supported to further expand the coverage and accessibility of brBTC.
True yield diversification is the core advantage of brBTC. Through intelligent dynamic asset allocation strategies, it can not only provide users with higher quality returns but also lower the participation threshold, helping BTCFi achieve scalable development.
Specifically, the yield structure of brBTC mainly consists of two core segments.
Firstly, a diversified restaking yield system:
The most distinctive source of yield for brBTC is its innovative multi-protocol restaking mechanism. We have established strategic partnerships with the most powerful restaking protocols in the industry, including Babylon, Kernel, Symbiotic, Mellow, Pell, and SatLayer. This not only ensures the diversity and stability of yields but also lays a solid foundation for the subsequent introduction of more quality restaking protocols, allowing brBTC holders to continuously enjoy the yield dividends brought by ecosystem expansion.
Secondly, the diversified yield of brBTC comes from innovative DeFi yield strategies:
brBTC innovatively adopts flexible combination strategies for on-chain DeFi yields. Continuing the mature yield logic of uniTokens, we have built a comprehensive DeFi ecosystem. Users can customize yields according to individual risk preferences by freely combining various DeFi protocols (such as DEX, lending, etc.). This innovative strategy design not only guarantees basic yields but also provides more possibilities for users pursuing high yields.
Looking ahead, we are actively laying out the off-chain yield landscape, including cooperation with traditional financial institutions and the development of innovative yield models. These groundbreaking plans will be announced to the community at the appropriate time, further enriching the yield sources of brBTC.
Of course, from a global perspective, brBTC is not an isolated product but can effectively interact with various sectors of the Bedrock BTCFi product matrix to form ecological effects: brBTC will form a complete product matrix with uniBTC and uniBTC Vaults to meet the investment needs of different users. Users can use uniBTC as the deposit asset for brBTC, and the intelligent interaction between the three products will create the most comprehensive Bitcoin financial application scenarios for users. This innovative ecological interaction mechanism not only enhances the liquidity of the entire decentralized Bitcoin ecosystem but also provides a solid guarantee for ecological security.
TechFlow: From the user's perspective, the safety of funds is a fundamental principle. How does Bedrock ensure the safety of funds and protect user rights?
Zhuling:
Bedrock has multiple measures in place to effectively protect users' asset security, providing users with a trustworthy blockchain ecosystem. In today's complex blockchain environment, security is always one of our most valued core elements. Therefore, we have built a comprehensive security assurance system from multiple levels, striving to provide maximum protection for users' assets.
Firstly, the contract audit report is one of the basic measures to ensure security. Bedrock has established partnerships with several well-known auditing firms in the industry and has passed comprehensive audits from authoritative security auditing agencies, including Peckshield and Blocksec, striving to ensure the safety of funds from the ground up.
Secondly, Bedrock has successfully integrated Chainlink, further ensuring the security and reliability of data and enhancing the platform's risk-resistance capabilities. In addition, we have implemented a series of stringent security measures, including a 24/7 real-time monitoring mechanism to respond to potential threats at any time, a bug bounty program incentivizing global security experts to identify and fix potential security vulnerabilities, and we have also set up a security fund for rapid response and resolution of sudden security issues.
Through these multi-layered security measures, Bedrock not only provides users with a feature-rich blockchain platform but also builds a solid line of defense for users' asset security. In the future, we will continue to invest resources, continuously optimize security strategies, and ensure that users can safely participate in the innovation and development of the blockchain ecosystem on the Bedrock platform.
The TGE is approaching, and now is the golden period to participate in Bedrock and accumulate chips.
TechFlow: There has been a lot of discussion in the community about Bedrock's TGE. Can you share more details with us?
Zhuling:
Firstly, thank you for the community's continued attention to Bedrock's TGE. Currently, the community's discussion about our Diamonds and TGE is indeed very high.
Although more information about the TGE has not yet been announced, we can be sure that the Diamonds accumulated by users will be converted into future BR tokens according to a specific mechanism. The community-centered principle is the basic rule for Bedrock's operation, and we will never overlook the contributions of early contributors.
The design of Bedrock's TGE will fully reflect the long-term value of the project. Our goal is to establish a sustainable token economic model. In the future, BR tokens will not only be a value carrier but will also become an important governance tool within the ecosystem, allowing token holders to participate in significant project decisions and jointly promote the healthy development of the ecosystem.
The specific conversion ratio and details will be announced to the community at the appropriate time, so please stay tuned.
TechFlow: For current users, how can they participate in Bedrock more effectively?
Zhuling:
As mentioned in the TGE commitment earlier: the Diamonds accumulated by users will be converted into BR tokens in the future according to a specific mechanism. Therefore, this stage is a golden period for users to interact with Bedrock and accumulate Diamonds through participation in unitoken activities.
And because our product planning is very clear, the way for users to participate in our ecosystem is also very clear:
Firstly, users participating in staking to mint uniBTC can receive multiple Diamonds rewards. Bedrock supports assets from Ethereum (wBTC/FBTC/cbBTC), Optimism (wBTC), Merlin (BTC/MBTC), Bitlayer (BTC/wBTC), B² Network (BTC/wBTC), and other ecosystems to mint uniBTC. In the future, as the pace of ecological cooperation accelerates, Bedrock will continue to support a broader range of assets. Meanwhile, users can participate in multiple yield activities on the Bedrock official website's Discover page to earn Diamonds bonuses. Participating in minting uniBTC will yield multiple rewards, including Bedrock Diamonds rewards, Babylon staking earnings, Babylon points, and DeFi ecosystem participation earnings.
Secondly, participating in uniBTC Vaults is also an efficient choice for accumulating Diamonds chips and optimizing yields. Currently, Bedrock has reached cooperation with DeFi protocols CIAN and Veda to jointly launch two Vault products: uniBTC Corn Vault and Cian uniBTC Yield Layer. Users only need to deposit assets such as uniBTC, FBTC, cbBTC, or WBTC to participate in yield optimization strategies with one click while receiving points rewards from multiple platforms such as CORN, BABYLON, CIAN, VEDA, and FBTC.
Of course, brBTC, as the core product recently launched focusing on BTCFi 2.0, will also earn considerable Diamonds rewards for participating in minting. To further integrate the BTC liquidity between different DeFi platforms, brBTC currently accepts WBTC, FBTC, mBTC, cbBTC, BTCB, and uniBTC as collateral, and will introduce more assets as the ecosystem expands. Everyone is welcome to participate and experience.
TechFlow: The last question, as the market becomes active again, more people are looking forward to innovations in the staking and restaking track. What do you think is the next trend of liquid staking? In the face of this trend, could you share with everyone the work focus of Bedrock in 2025?
Zhuling:
We believe that 2025 will be a year of vigorous development for the cryptocurrency industry, and innovations in liquid staking will usher in a new round of breakthrough developments.
From the trend perspective, the next phase of liquid staking may present the following characteristics:
Further integration of multi-chain ecosystems: With the realization of more blockchain interoperability, liquid staking assets (such as uniBTC and brBTC) will play a larger role in cross-chain ecosystems, helping users maximize yields across multiple networks.
Diversification of yield models: In addition to traditional on-chain staking yields, the integration of DeFi strategies, off-chain yields, and exploration of more innovative yield scenarios will become mainstream trends.
Strengthening security and transparency: Users' demand for the safety and transparency of funds will continue to drive the evolution of protocol design and operational models.
In light of these trends, Bedrock's focus in 2025 will revolve around the following points.
Firstly, Bedrock will continue to delve into the core product ecosystem of staking.
In 2024, we will help users obtain yields in leading restaking protocols such as Eigenlayer and Babylon through our two core products, uniETH and uniBTC, while maintaining asset liquidity. On this basis, in 2025, we will continue to improve the uniTokens series, providing users with more high-quality staking and liquidity management solutions.
Secondly, Bedrock will focus on BTCFi 2.0 in the future and is committed to leading this narrative trend.
brBTC will serve as a core tool for the BTCFi 2.0 narrative, providing users with safe, efficient, and lasting yields. We are committed to expanding the ecological application scenarios of brBTC, promoting the value release of Bitcoin in the DeFi and restaking fields while ensuring that brBTC holders can freely interact across multiple chains and protocols.
Most importantly, Bedrock will continue to explore new yield scenarios.
In addition to on-chain yields, we will also explore the possibilities of off-chain yields, further expanding users' yield space through cooperation with traditional finance, institutional investors, and other innovative yield models.
Finally, Bedrock will promote the industry to continue moving towards standardization and security.
In the face of rapidly evolving industry trends, Bedrock will continue to focus on protocol security, yield transparency, and user education, setting new standards for the industry while promoting the healthy development of the liquid staking track.
In summary, Bedrock will continue to maintain its leading position in industry innovation in 2025, creating more value for users through core product optimization, multi-chain ecosystem expansion, and the construction of the BTCFi 2.0 narrative.
