Bitcoin Gets Ethereum-Style Smart Contracts with BRC-2.0 Upgrade

BRC-20 tokens on the Bitcoin network can now run Ethereum-style smart contracts with a new upgrade, opening the door for apps and DeFi directly on the network.

The update, known as BRC-2.0, was activated at Bitcoin block height 912,690, marking another step in the Bitcoin community’s efforts to elevate the cryptocurrency’s status from just a store of value to a platform capable of supporting dApps and DeFi protocols.

“BRC-20 2.0 signals a new chapter for Bitcoin, moving it from a passive store of value toward a programmable financial layer,” Leo Fan, co-founder of Cysic, said in a commentary for The Defiant. “The real test will be whether developers can deliver meaningful applications that justify the added complexity in a network where scalability and culture remain difficult hurdles.”

BRC-2.0 adds Ethereum-style smart contract support to the BRC-20 indexer, letting blockchain developers build directly on Bitcoin without relying on cross-chain bridges or wrapped tokens. This means Bitcoin-native tokens are becoming programmable and able to work smoothly with other EVM-compatible chains.

Edan Yago, CEO and co-founder of BitcoinOS, a framework that adds smart contract functionality, told The Defiant that the upgrade gives developers the ability, for the first time, to create “fully-programmable tokens and smart contracts on Bitcoin, make BTC itself programmable (much as wETH makes ETH programmable), build rollups on Bitcoin and to use ZK to bridge BTC in an effectively trustless manner.”

“By unlocking programmability directly on Bitcoin, we are mobilizing dormant capital, enabling institutions and developers alike to innovate on the world’s most secure and valuable network,” Yago added.

‘Digital Golden Fuel’

Dmitry Gusakov, tech lead at Ethereum staking protocol Lido, told The Defiant that for Ethereum, EVM has become “one of the key success drivers.”

“If we have programmability comparable or equal to EVM on Bitcoin, we will finally reach the stage when Bitcoin is more than just a digital gold. With EVM, Bitcoin will become a digital golden fuel, opening doors to DeFi, Stablecoins, and many more goodies we now have on Ethereum,” Gusakov explained.

With BRC-2.0, the BRC-20 token standard becomes more flexible than Runes, another Bitcoin token protocol. While Runes keeps things simple and efficient using Bitcoin’s UTXO model and OP_RETURN for data, it still can’t run smart contracts.

By letting developers build everything from DeFi and NFT platforms to synthetic assets, BRC-2.0 could fuel a new economic layer that many DeFi proponents have said the Bitcoin network is missing.