Bitcoin’s biggest limitation just got shattered. A new protocol went live Thursday, making it simple to put the largest cryptocurrency directly to work in powerful, yield-generating strategies within the booming world of decentralized finance (DeFi).
OpNet, a new smart-contract protocol, was activated on the Bitcoin blockchain, marking the arrival of DeFi-powering smart contracts that run directly on Bitcoin’s foundational layer. This keeps traders' bitcoin on Bitcoin's mainnet through standard transactions with BTC as the only fee token.
DeFi powers lending and borrowing activities that allow token holders to earn additional returns on their coin holdings. Holders of tokens native to smart-contract blockchains like Ethereum have always been able to access DeFi seamlessly, because the blockchain itself hosted most of the DeFi industry.
But the promise of DeFi came with a catch: it was closed to bitcoin. Bitcoin owners had to adopt strategies such as wrapping BTC with centralized services or using bridges to move assets to Ethereum or other chains. Each step introduced counterparty risks that contradicted Bitcoin's core principle of trustless, self-sovereign money.
OpNet's mainnet debut claims to solve that issue and represents the first time users can access real DeFi applications, such as swapping, staking and token launches, without bridges, wrapped BTC or leaving Bitcoin's base layer, potentially eliminating the security risks and custody issues that have plagued previous Bitcoin DeFi attempts.
