Cardano taps into $1.3 trillion BTC liquidity via BitcoinOS bridge

Cardano is set to unlock further liquidity for its decentralized finance ecosystem through a major integration with BitcoinOS, the smart contract layer on Bitcoin.

According to an announcement on Oct. 24, Cardano (ADA) will tap into the $1.3 trillion Bitcoin (BTC) market by integrating BitcoinOS’ Grail Bridge, enabling zero-knowledge-powered interoperability between Cardano and Bitcoin.

This development, announced during the Cardano Summit 2024, involves a partnership between BitcoinOS and EMURGO, a blockchain firm and developer entity behind the Cardano blockchain network.

According to EMURGO, this collaboration enhances Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem by bringing the vast potential of decentralized finance on Bitcoin to developers and the user community around ADA. This expansion follows Cardano’s Vasil hard fork. The recent Chang upgrade also marked a major milestone for the blockchain network.

Using BitcoinOS’ bridge eliminates the need for intermediaries to access this market. ZK cryptography allows BTC users to transfer bitcoin to other chains without relying on custodians or intermediaries.

Ken Kodama, founder and chief executive officer of EMURGO, shared the following comment:

“This collaboration with BitcoinOS has the potential to unlock new cross-chain capabilities and further strengthen Cardano by granting Cardano users, projects, and developers secure, trustless access to the Bitcoin ecosystem. Supporting a more open and interconnected Web3 environment across different blockchains helps drive innovation and the adoption of DeFi and other decentralized solutions.”

Other projects that have integrated BitcoinOS include the DeFi protocols Sovryn and Merlin Chain. 

In September this year, Merlin Chain announced it would leverage BOS technology to enhance cross-chain transactions for its users. The layer-2 platform is one of several projects aiming to bring DeFi functionality for BTC holders amid a rising interest in the flagship digital asset.