Although #Merlin( @MerlinLayer2) has been controversial this year due to its price, it is undeniable that the#BTCecosystem is still the most eye-catching track in this cycle. Based on the current market's lack of incremental funds and shortage of existing funds, activating the dormant trillions of#BTCfunds is what everyone expects. As the most eye-catching existence at the time,#Merlinhas fallen from its peak to its lowest point, and its market value is now less than 100 million. Is it worth looking forward to? Let's take a look at the data
With the emergence of new developments such as the Ordinals protocol, BRC20 token standard, Bitmap protocol, BRC420 metaverse standard, as well as technological advances in BitVM and zero-knowledge proofs, the Bitcoin ecosystem is experiencing a rebirth and renaissance.
Currently, Bitcoin has a market capitalization of approximately $1.1 trillion, accounting for 58% of the entire crypto market. Compared with the prosperity of the ETH system, the development of the Bitcoin ecosystem has just begun. If Bitcoin can release about 20% of its liquidity, it will bring more than 200 billion in incremental funds. The overflow funds will significantly promote the entire Bitcoin ecosystem and bring huge incremental funds to the market. As picture 👇
Why is BTC L2 so important? In the entire BTC ecological flywheel, the BTC expansion solution is an important part of solving #BTCFi. Due to the inherent characteristics of BTC, it does not have the programmability similar to ETH smart contracts, resulting in a lack of DEFI applications, token issuance and aggregation, and the inability to run DEFI and other applications and protocols. This has greatly restricted the development of the BTC ecosystem.
The BTC L2 expansion plan is the core of the BTC ecosystem to achieve a positive flywheel.
Among the many BTC expansion plans, the development of Merlin Chain in 2024 is obvious to all. Although the overall market of#Web3is not good, the project has been building, achieved many gratifying achievements, and stood out among the BTC ecosystem!
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1. Mass adoption of the network:
$1.2 billion TVL,
$16 billion in bridging volume,
1.9 million unique addresses
12.7 million transactions.
80% of Bitcoin native asset holders are Merlin Chain users.
2. Compared with other BTC L2 protocols, Merlin Chain's data growth and TVL share have always been far ahead! As shown in the 👇 figure, the total TVL locked volume is as high as 1.2 billion US dollars.
Record growth:
TVL reached $3.9 billion within 50 days of mainnet launch
88% are Bitcoin native assets
By the first half of 2024, M-BTC's market capitalization reaches $1.2 billion
BTC value center:
$16 billion worth of BTC bridged
Nearly $1 billion in spot transactions
Over $1 billion in perpetual transactions
Over $1 billion in cross-chain revenue generation
3. Bitcoin’s native asset empowerment is highly inclusive:
Merlin's Seal supports 14 Bitcoin native assets including BITMAP, BRC-20, BRC-420 and Ordinals NFT, with high participation and support from the Bitcoin community, and the pledge rate of some assets exceeds 90%.
In the first half of 2024, DEX trading volume reached nearly $2 billion and liquidity reached $78 million.
4. Thriving dApp ecosystem:
With more than 200 dApps, including BTCFi, DeFi, games, Metaverse, etc., Merlin Chain has become the most dynamic ecosystem in the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Includes industry-leading applications:
#1 BRC-20/Runes Bridge (UniCross)
#1 Bitcoin Liquidity Regaining Protocol (SolvProtocol)
The#1Bitcoin Derivatives DEX (Surf Protocol)
#1 Bitcoin Lending Protocol (AvalonLabs)
Ranked-1 Bitcoin native DEX (MerlinSwap)
The#1Bitcoin Launchpad (Merlin Starter), etc.
5. Security and Decentralization
Technical architecture:
• ZK-Rollup Network
• Decentralized Oracle Network
• On-chain BTC fraud prevention module
Merlin Chain's decentralized architecture effectively reduces the risk of single point failure and can be publicly verified.
Strategic Partners:
• Celestia collaboration to provide data availability
•Cobo cooperates to provide advanced MPC wallet to ensure asset security
•Merlin Safety Committee oversees ecosystem protection
• Bug bounty program
Multi-party cooperation to ensure the security of Merlin Chain assets
6. Token Economy:
20% of the total $MERL supply is allocated to Merlin's Seal, the largest fair issuance, which will be completed within 6 months. It is community-oriented and practices fairness and justice.
In the second half of 2024, $MERL emissions will slow significantly, with only 0.4% of the total supply scheduled to be released over the next 12 months.
It is worth noting that the team’s release plan will be 0% in the first 12 months and 1.4% after 24 months, ensuring long-term coordination with Merlin’s sustainable development, which also fully demonstrates the team’s determination!
7. Such rapid growth is inseparable from excellent founders and investment institutions
The success of a project often depends on the ability of the founder. Jeff (@BitmapTech) is the core figure of multiple projects, such as Bitmap Tech, BRC420, and Merlin Chain, which is rare among Web3 entrepreneurs. Before entering the crypto field, Jeff had several impressive entrepreneurial experiences and enjoyed a high reputation in the Web2 field.
Jeff's unique vision, broad perspective, tireless community involvement, and dedication to guiding and educating users and helping them properly participate in community projects have made Jeff the focus of attention and the key to the project's achievements.
The project has received investments from high-quality institutions such as Spartan Group, Hailstone Labs, Amber Group, and OKX Ventures.
Summary: Merlin Chain has brought significant enhancements and expansions to the Bitcoin network through its unique technical architecture and diverse application scenarios, and has delivered satisfactory results in the first half of 2024. Its core technologies such as ZK Rollup and EVM compatibility give it broad application prospects and market potential in fields such as DEFI, NFT and enterprise applications. Merlin Chain's innovation and ecosystem incentive plan provides developers and users with an efficient, secure and opportunity-filled BTC L2 platform. The future growth potential is worth looking forward to!
