According to a report released by developer Dfinity Foundation on November 4, the usage of the Internet Computer's cross-chain messaging protocol Chain Fusion has increased by 1,230% year-on-year, primarily driven by Bitcoin-native applications.
Dfinity stated that Bitcoin applications, including Rainbow Protocol, Tap Protocol, and Bitfinity, are using the Internet Computer to deploy smart contracts and other complex programs on the Bitcoin network.
Developers told Cointelegraph in a statement that Chain Fusion "enables smart contracts for Bitcoin because ICP can interact directly with the Bitcoin network without using any trusted chain bridges."

The Internet Computer Protocol (\u003cc-231/\u003e) has recently added support for threshold Schnorr signatures in addition to existing threshold ECDSA support.
So what is it? What is Schnorr?
This article simply explains these complex cryptographic concepts and highlights the use cases they unlock.
Overview
Threshold signatures allow ICP smart contracts (containers) to securely access addresses on other blockchains.
ICP supports signature schemes compatible with widely used blockchains, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and more than twenty other chains.
With this support, containers on ICP can natively hold Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other assets, and sign transactions.

In recent years, decentralized finance (DeFi) has been a key aspect of the crypto ecosystem, especially challenging the limitations of traditional finance. Since DeFi was introduced on the Bitcoin blockchain, multiple protocols have launched DeFi functionalities on the Bitcoin blockchain, but we are still in the early stages.
This article discusses the different protocols for launching DeFi projects on Bitcoin and their status in providing DeFi functionalities on the Bitcoin blockchain.
Understanding how Bitcoin's blockchain operates
The Bitcoin blockchain operates using a proof-of-work consensus algorithm, which requires solving complex mathematical problems to verify transactions and secure the network.