Disclaimer: Information found on CryptoreNews is those of writers quoted. It does not represent the opinions of CryptoreNews on whether to sell, buy or hold any investments. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use provided information at your own risk.
CryptoreNews covers fintech, blockchain and Bitcoin bringing you the latest crypto news and analyses on the future of money.
Zest Protocol incorporates Babylon on the Stacks L2 to establish the most secure staked BTC asset in the market, BTCz.
George Town, Cayman Islands, 5 September – Zest Protocol is a Bitcoin DeFi initiative supported by prominent figures such as Tim Draper’s Draper Associates, Binance Labs, and Stacks co-creator Muneeb Ali’s Trust Machines. The goal of Zest Protocol is to transform Bitcoin DeFi by allowing every BTC holder to securely deploy their BTC on-chain. Today, Zest Protocol announces the introduction of BTCz, enabling users to deploy their BTC to generate a BTC yield. Holders of BTCz receive a staking yield through the Babylon Protocol, augmented by the distinctive security features of the Stacks L2.
Babylon has been at the forefront of trustless Bitcoin staking, allowing BTC holders to earn yield by validating PoS systems in a non-custodial manner. The first phase of the mainnet launched on August 22nd, achieving a cap of 1000 BTC within just 6 blocks.
Zest Protocol combines the strengths of the Stacks L2 and Babylon to enhance the security of the BTC staking experience.
As the leading Bitcoin L2, Stacks offers unique security attributes to Zest Protocol. Stacks smart contracts possess the capability to read Bitcoin state, enabling the contracts to independently verify modifications to Bitcoin balances. This allows Zest Protocol’s BTC staking contract on the Stacks L2 to independently confirm BTC stakes on Bitcoin L1 via the Babylon staking protocol, without depending on a third-party oracle or messaging system. This, along with Babylon’s trustless architecture, establishes the groundwork for BTCz to be the most secure staked BTC derivative.
In addition to utilizing the Stacks L2’s read access to Bitcoin state for security, Zest Protocol’s BTCz will gradually decentralize towards the Stacks sBTC design to establish a decentralized and permissionless peg. Users will also have the option to deposit sBTC to earn a yield through BTCz.
The Zest Protocol team has extensive experience in developing Bitcoin applications and infrastructure. The co-founders of Zest Protocol were among the initial hires at Trust Machines, the leading Bitcoin infrastructure firm led by Stacks co-creator Muneeb Ali. During their time at Trust Machines, the Zest Protocol co-founders were instrumental in the design and development of sBTC.
Related Posts
“With the anticipated sBTC launch in Q4 of 2024, Zest Protocol’s BTCz is poised to become the yield-bearing counterpart to sBTC on Stacks,” stated Tycho Onnasch, Founder of Zest Protocol. “A yielding BTC asset like BTCz in conjunction with sBTC will be essential for the secure adoption of Bitcoin DeFi, developed by the engineers behind Stacks’ sBTC. This marks just the beginning of our BTC yield product rollout on Zest Protocol Earn.”
“We are eager to see Zest Protocol utilize our technology to enhance Bitcoin yield generation on Stacks. We look forward to witnessing how this innovation impacts the broader Bitcoin ecosystem,” said Fisher Yu, Co-founder of Babylon.
About Zest Protocol
Zest Protocol is a DeFi protocol designed for Bitcoin. The protocol aims to cultivate a dynamic DeFi ecosystem surrounding BTC as an asset. Zest Protocol recently secured a $3.5m Seed Round led by Tim Draper’s Draper Associates, with contributions from Binance Labs, Flow Traders, Trust Machines, Asymmetric, and others (further details available in a Reuters article). For additional information, visit www.zestprotocol.com.
About Babylon
Babylon is a project focused on creating Bitcoin security sharing protocols with the aim of establishing a Bitcoin-secured decentralized world. Its latest advancement is the world’s first trustless and self-custodial Bitcoin staking protocol, which allows Bitcoin holders to stake their BTC on Proof-of-Stake (PoS) systems such as PoS chains, L2s, Data Availability (DA) layers, etc., enabling them to earn yield without the necessity for third-party custody, bridging solutions, or wrapping services. Babylon’s methodology merges the high security and broad adoption of Bitcoin with the efficiency and scalability of PoS systems, enhancing Bitcoin’s utility.
About Stacks
Stacks is a Bitcoin L2 that facilitates smart contracts and decentralized applications to utilize Bitcoin as a secure foundational layer. The 2024 Nakamoto and sBTC releases will introduce faster speeds and transactions supported by 100% Bitcoin finality. Stacks is currently the leading Bitcoin L2 in terms of developer engagement and market capitalization and is set to help unlock Bitcoin and its $500B in passive capital as a fully programmable, productive asset. The Stacks (STX) token, which serves as gas on the L2, was the first to undergo an SEC-qualified sale in the United States. The project was explicitly decentralized with the mainnet launch in 2021. Within the Stacks ecosystem, there are currently over 30 contributing entities, including a non-profit Stacks Foundation, a developer tooling company Hiro, Xverse, Trust Machines, Mechanism, Bitcoin L2 Labs, Zest Protocol, Bitcoin Frontier Fund, and more.
