zkBTC Bridge is a cross-chain bridge based on zero-knowledge proof technology, connecting the Ethereum and Bitcoin ecosystems, dedicated to achieving secure and efficient cross-chain asset transfers. As the protocol continues to develop, its team recently revealed plans to launch its governance token, aimed at promoting the decentralization of the protocol and community governance. Holders of its governance tokens will gain governance rights over zkBTC Bridge and the team's subsequent projects. This governance model ensures the long-term robust operation of the protocol, reducing reliance on the core team, thereby constructing a completely decentralized Bitcoin cross-chain bridge.
By launching a governance token, zkBTC Bridge will officially take a significant step towards becoming an important public cross-chain infrastructure, dedicated to providing users with a secure, transparent, and sustainable decentralized asset cross-chain solution.
Decentralized Incentive Mechanism, allowing protocol value to return to community users
The zkBTC Bridge team announced that about 75% of the governance tokens will be distributed through a mining mechanism, incentivizing protocol users and miners to jointly maintain the ecosystem. The tokens will be distributed as follows:
75% of tokens generated through mining: Distribution as follows
User Rewards: The vast majority of tokens will be returned to all cross-chain transaction users.
Miner and Foundation Rewards: A small portion of tokens will be allocated to miners and the foundation, used to incentivize miners to provide computational resources and pay on-chain fees to maintain the normal operation of the protocol. It also supports the long-term operations of the foundation.
Revenue Distribution Mechanism and Fee Structure
The revenue distribution mechanism of zkBTC is fully managed automatically by smart contracts to ensure transparency:
Revenue Distribution: All fee revenues generated from cross-chain transactions will be allocated to a publicly managed revenue pool by smart contracts, and protocol revenues will automatically be distributed to token holders, allowing users to receive benefits according to their token holdings.
Flexible Withdrawal: Users can flexibly withdraw shares from the revenue pool according to their needs, and can use their governance token holdings to withdraw revenue shares freely for $zkBTC.
The zkBTC Bridge tokenomics also reference Bitcoin's mining design, ensuring the scarcity and long-term growth potential of its governance tokens by periodically reducing mining rewards and bridge fee rates. In the economic model design, the fee and reward halving mechanism:
Bitcoin-based Assets: The governance token is designed as a Bitcoin-based asset, its value pegged to Bitcoin.
Appreciation Model: The protocol will halve the adjustment of transaction fees and bridge mining rewards according to a predetermined algorithm, ensuring that the exchange rate of each token relative to Bitcoin continues to rise with the continuation of the protocol.
Role of Miners and Composition of Revenue
Miners are crucial in the zkBTC Bridge ecosystem, as they ensure the secure transfer of cross-chain assets and data on-chain by computing zero-knowledge proofs (zk-proof).
Computation Proof and Payment of On-chain Fees:
Ensure the integrity of transaction data and the reliability of on-chain storage.
Provide stable cross-chain transaction services and optimize user experience.
Revenue Structure:
In return, miners will receive token rewards and cross-chain fee revenues, incentivizing miners to continuously maintain network stability.
The Role and Function of the zkBTC Foundation
To ensure the long-term stability and security of zkBTC Bridge, the project team will also establish a foundation as the core support for ecological development, whose main responsibilities include:
Network Maintenance and Security Assurance: The foundation will continuously monitor the system, promptly fixing potential vulnerabilities and optimizing protocol performance.
Community Development and Ecological Construction: The foundation will also promote a developer incentive program to facilitate the expansion of innovative applications and partnerships.
OP_ZKP Development and Operation Management: The foundation will continue to fund the research and development of the OP_ZKP opcode and the infrastructure applications based on this new opcode, as well as maintain the long-term stable operation of the zkBTC bridge.
Dual Function of Governance Tokens
The revenue tokens of zkBTC are not only for distribution returns but also serve as governance tokens for future projects. All token holders have decision-making power over ecological development, supporting decentralized governance:
Community Governance and Voting Rights: Token holders can participate in major protocol changes, fund allocations, and strategic decisions.
Ecosystem Expansion and Innovation Support: Through the governance proposal mechanism, partner incentives, and voting on future application development proposals.
Through this dual-function design, zkBTC achieves an effective balance between economic incentives and community governance, ensuring the long-term prosperity of the ecosystem. Furthermore, the future plans of zkBTC Bridge include introducing more asset support, expanding the cross-chain ecosystem; and developing new projects to extend the use cases of zkBTC.
zkBTC Bridge will establish a community-driven cross-chain ecosystem to achieve true decentralized management and sustainable development, further promoting Bitcoin as a circulating foundational asset for the entire chain.