Bitcoin L2 Core Launches Liquid Staking For BTC

The Core Foundation announced Thursday that it is launching a liquid staking token backed by BTC on the Bitcoin-backed Layer 2 “Core” network.

The token, named LstBTC, will be an ERC-20 token pegged 1:1 with BTC, that also accrues daily awards for holders.

Liquid Staking On Bitcoin

According to Core DAO, staking rewards will be paid out in CORE tokens – the native utility and governance token of the Core network.

“LSTs are the missing ingredient in Bitcoin DeFi, and the introduction of LstBTC will help kickstart Core’s ecosystem,” said Rich Rines, an initial contributor to Core DAO. “With LstBTC, the Core ecosystem is expected to attract new builders, launching their own LSTs on Core.”

Core is an EVM-compatible Bitcoin sidechain that uses both merge mining and delegated proof of stake to secure its network – a consensus mechanism called “Satoshi Plus.” This allows it to creatively inherit the security of Bitcoin while including far more functionality than Bitcoin L1 can offer.

Native Bitcoin staking is now a reality thanks to builders at Babylon, who found a way to let average Bitcoin users stake their BTC in self-custody to secure multiple other blockchains, such as Core. Once a privilege of explicit proof of stake networks like Ethereum and Solana, BTC holders will soon have access to consistent yield generated from multiple L2 blockchains at a time.

Traditionally, staking came with the tradeoff of needing to lock away one’s assets to have the privilege of earning yield. However, liquid staking gives users full freedom to move and potentially trade their BTC while still earning passive yield, and to possibly even deploy it for further yield in other DeFi protocols.

While LsBTC is issued on Core, it is backed by BTC held in a multi-signature wallet on Bitcoin L1. This introduces new trust assumptions over standard BTC holdings, meaning it is technically possible to rugpull investors.

“The Multisig wallets undergo rigorous security audits, ensuring that users’ assets are well-protected, while still allowing them to benefit from the liquidity and rewards offered by LstBTC,” Core DAO clarified.

Bitcoin’s Expanding DeFi Ecosystem

On Thursday, Zest protocol on the Stacks Bitcoin L2 also announced the launch of its liquid staking token, BTCz. Unlike LstBTC, this token will appreciate in value over time as the amount of BTC backing BTCz slowly grows.

The Stacks blockchain regularly checks its security to Bitcoin L1, and its smart contracts have the ability to read Bitcoin state. Stacks rolled out the final stage of its Nakamoto upgrade late last month, which made transactions on Stacks faster by orders of magnitude.