This article is the author's personal opinion and does not represent the views of Wu Shuo. My passion for cryptocurrency began in 2013, when I was blown away by the concept of Bitcoin as a non-sovereign store of value or digital gold. By the time of the cryptocurrency boom in 2017, I was fully engaged in the field, fascinated by Ethereum and its possibility of combining programmability with the decentralized system pioneered by Bitcoin.   A few years later, I came to Coinbase, where I led the money flow engineering team for three and a half years. My tenure at Coinbase allowed me to experience firsthand the tremendous innovation, demand, and potential within the crypto industry. While the excitement around new blockchain technologies continues to push boundaries, Bitcoin has always been the cornerstone of the industry. This consistency has strengthened my belief that Bitcoin is here to stay, and that the key to long-term success in the crypto space is to build on Bitcoin.   This philosophy, coupled with my natural love of building from scratch, brought me to Core, where unlocking Bitcoin from fundamentals is our main goal.Share your thoughts and perspectives on Core with us Core was born out of a response to the lack of scalable development in the Bitcoin space, despite the tremendous value being created in other blockchains. While Bitcoin has been the most dominant asset throughout the rise of cryptocurrencies, ~$1 trillion of Bitcoin value is trapped with little to no yield and no real platform to use it. Core was created to fill these two gaps, providing Bitcoin holders with native Bitcoin yields while allowing them to use Bitcoin on cheaper, faster, and more versatile channels that are still secured by the Bitcoin network. ~$265 million of Bitcoin value is currently staked on Core. This foundation makes Core the perfect platform to host BTCfi as over 100 decentralized applications are ready to unlock Bitcoin from being just a store of value to a financial asset.   Can you share some details about Core’s contributors? The Core blockchain is permissionless and built publicly, so anyone can participate in the development of the ecosystem. Core’s contributors are located all over the world and are dedicated to promoting the vision of decentralizing and scaling Bitcoin. Many of the most active contributors have impressive backgrounds in the blockchain space, coming from companies like Binance, Moon Pay, and Kava Finance.   What do you think of the current Bitcoin ecosystem and the diverse Layer 2 solutions? The Bitcoin network is the most secure and decentralized network ever created due to its technological and monetary simplicity. Its primary purpose is to transform physical energy into digital gold, establishing Bitcoin as the ultimate hard currency asset. This achievement is the result of the concerted efforts of parties with aligned incentives around the world. However, this simplicity also comes with a trade-off: scalability. The Bitcoin network is not designed to host complex smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps), as its primary focus remains on aligning incentives to protect the Bitcoin asset itself. This makes Bitcoin's scaling face unique challenges compared to other chains that were designed for super-scale from the beginning. Layer 2 solutions that rely on Bitcoin for data availability or settlement must deal with these inherent limitations.The future of Bitcoin scaling must take a more creative approach. By viewing Bitcoin as an incentive alignment mechanism, these incentives can be extended to external, parallel, and symbiotic systems. This is the core mission behind Core - to leverage Bitcoin’s security apparatus to power a smart contract platform. In doing so, it enables efficient use of the Bitcoin asset while preserving its fundamental principles. This approach ensures that Bitcoin’s unparalleled security and decentralization continue to serve as the foundation for innovative advancements within the ecosystem, bridging the gap between Bitcoin’s inherent simplicity and the blockchain space’s growing demand for scalability and functionality.   What makes Core unique compared to other Layer1s? Core takes a unique approach to Bitcoin alignment, extending the incentive alignment of the Bitcoin network to more than just protecting the Bitcoin asset itself. In doing so, the Bitcoin network also enhances the security of Core, creating a mutually reinforcing system that strengthens both the Bitcoin network and Core. The cornerstone of this alignment is Core’s Satoshi Plus consensus mechanism, which rewards Bitcoin miners and Bitcoin stakers for their contributions to Core’s security. This innovative approach enables Core to leverage Bitcoin’s unparalleled security while hosting a fully EVM-compatible dapp ecosystem designed specifically for Bitcoin. On Core’s scalable, Bitcoin-secured blockchain, the full potential of the Bitcoin asset is unlocked, combining the strongest decentralized currency with decentralized finance. A standout feature of Core is its non-custodial Bitcoin staking, an essential component of Satoshi Plus. This enables any Bitcoin holder to earn passive income on their idle Bitcoin without giving up control of their private keys. Bitcoin remains on the Bitcoin blockchain but earns yield through its role in Satoshi Plus. Users can select validators to secure Core by locking up their Bitcoin using Bitcoin’s native absolute timelock feature. This mechanism not only decentralizes the election of validators, but also significantly enhances the economic security alignment between Core and Bitcoin.What impact do you think the Bitcoin halving will have on the incentive mechanism of the overall ecosystem? Every four years, the Bitcoin mining reward is halved. This has a huge impact on Bitcoin's defense mechanism. Miners are already operating under tight profit margins, and they need to constantly find new income opportunities to offset the reduction in the natural issuance of Bitcoin. In the future, it will be critical to the security of the Bitcoin network to allow miners to receive generous rewards in addition to the Bitcoin block reward.   Without any additional energy consumption, miners can turn to Core's supplementary rewards, making the CORE token reward issued to miners and mining pools actually a second block reward. In addition to extending miners' security, Core also enhances Bitcoin's security by further incentivizing miners' productivity.   What unique advantages does Core have?  Core has designed a hybrid architecture that draws on the strongest elements of different blockchain designs. In terms of security, Core is uniquely aligned with Bitcoin, benefiting from the protections and interests of Bitcoin miners and Bitcoin holders. In terms of scalability, Core is compatible with EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine), giving it DeFi capabilities comparable to blockchains such as Ethereum. In addition to leveraging the power of other blockchains, Core has introduced its own innovative products, including non-custodial Bitcoin staking, which has become a reference rate for Bitcoin. Since Core’s Bitcoin staking represents the reference rate for BTCfi, any financial decision made in the Bitcoin financial space must consider Core’s Bitcoin native rate. These features allow Core to attract an active user and developer community. Over 100 decentralized applications have been launched on Core.   Why did Core choose EVM compatibility? Developers choose to build EVM-compatible dapps because it is familiar, easy, and scalable. Core simply gives developers and users what they want. Obviously, the EVM is leading in its category, so Core is not designed to reinvent the wheel, but to leverage the pre-existing EVM ecosystem. This scalability has enabled Core to rapidly improve in dapp development and user engagement.   Can you introduce some existing decentralized applications on the chain?Regarding current applications on Core, there are several notable projects. Glyph is a Bitcoin-powered decentralized exchange (DEX) that offers features like inscription and staking. NLX is a Bitcoin-powered perpetual contract DEX similar to platforms like BitMEX and GMX. Colend has launched a Bitcoin-based lending service. The overall theme of these applications is to unlock the potential of Bitcoin beyond its traditional constraints. You can find a detailed list of Core dapps at http://coredao.org/explore/ecosystem.   What do you think of the existing narratives in the crypto space? In terms of narratives, it is clear that they play a role in driving the development, adoption, and usage of the cryptocurrency ecosystem. That said, not all narratives are created equal. Some narratives are short-lived distractions, while others stir passion year after year. As for the latter, the biggest thematic narrative in the crypto space is the continued rise of Bitcoin. Despite minimal development of it in the past, Bitcoin continues to dominate the headlines and lead the way in blockchain adoption.   Lately, Bitcoin has continued to drive the narrative, but this time it’s different. The narrative is centered on Bitcoin’s re-emergence as a center of innovation. Ordinals and BRC-20 drove this narrative forward, but it has taken on new life with the emergence of true scalability solutions like Core. Additionally, the concept of Bitcoin staking and re-staking introduces an innovative way to earn passivity benefits directly on Bitcoin’s Layer 1 (L1) without compromising security. The launch of Core’s trustless Bitcoin staking product is a significant development, providing Bitcoin holders with the opportunity to earn yield and participate in securing other chains through re-staking. These narratives highlight the evolution of development dynamics within the cryptocurrency space, with a focus on scaling, minimizing trust, and innovative ways to leverage Bitcoin to open up new possibilities across the ecosystem. What do you think it will take for Web3 to attract a real user base? It’s important to find that unique combination of things that people actually want. Understanding user needs and effectively addressing them can make a project stand out.This philosophy is particularly important for Core as a truly product-focused chain in the Bitcoin scaling space. Launching features that people really want, like non-custodial Bitcoin staking and the full BTCfi ecosystem, is the most important thing for a growing protocol.   It’s also critical to combine user focus with honest behavior and maintaining integrity; trust is a valuable currency in both traditional and decentralized ecosystems.   Still, it’s early days. There’s a lot of work to be done and a lot to be learned, which is both a challenge and an exciting opportunity.   Do you have standards that support specific ecosystem applications? Core is an open and permissionless blockchain. This means that anyone can build anything they want on Core without having to get approval in advance. While some projects can apply for funding support from entities like the Core Foundation or the Core Venture Capital Network, the platform is open to all developers.   The projects that generate the most excitement are those that engage real users and offer a compelling value proposition. For dapps, success is primarily measured by their usage and the actual benefits they provide. DeFi is an area of ​​focus — due to its alignment with Bitcoin’s strengths — but other Web3 sub-sectors are also thriving on Core, with gaming being a notable example. User activity is arguably even more critical in gaming than in DeFi, as an active and engaged user base is one of the key indicators of a project’s success.