So Bitcoin needed an EVM… again?

[NotGuru]

You know it’s that time again when a new project shows up waving the “Layer 2” flag and whispering sweet nothings like “Bitcoin security meets smart contracts.”

This time, it’s BTR (Bitlayer), claims it’s EVM compatible, riding on BTC’s reputation, and offering devs some magical hybrid between Ethereum and Bitcoin. Basically like taping Vitalik's brain onto Satoshi’s skeleton.

Look, not here to throw shade. But you’ve gotta admit, haven’t we danced this dance before?

There’s always some “this time it is different” project, usually full of hypes, maybe one slick diagram, and a roadmap that says, Q4, Revolutionize everything. Meanwhile, most of them barely make it past mainnet without going quiet.

Curious if anyone’s done a proper look yet? I can’t tell if BTR is actually trying something new or just remixing the same tune with a shinier logo, what are your thoughts?

[Josefjix]

This not the first project coming up with this new innovations of Bitcoin DeFi, Bitcoin layer 2 and all these Bitcoin subchain projects but they never end well.

Mintlayer came and nothing special about it till today,

The problem I always have this so-called Bitcoin layer 2 are always using EVM address starting with 0x to maximize transactions calling it on Bitcoin protocol, that's actually not real to me.

Build on Bitcoin and use Bitcoin address that starts with bc1 or 1, let's know where you leading the users to, EVM or Bitcoin chain, I don't find a project fulfilling when they claim to be Bitcoin DeFi while still using EVM address for transactions, that's sketchy to me.

[JeromeTash]

Curious if anyone’s done a proper look yet? I can’t tell if BTR is actually trying something new or just remixing the same tune with a shinier logo, what are your thoughts?

It is the same recycled bullshit every other bull run that happens. Any project that tries to use Bitcoins reputation to gain a following is shady. I would rather follow projects that don't have to
1. Include the "Bit" part in their name
2. Claim they are bridging a gap between Bitcoin and some other altcoins

[edroi]

You know it’s that time again when a new project shows up waving the “Layer 2” flag and whispering sweet nothings like “Bitcoin security meets smart contracts.”

This time, it’s BTR (Bitlayer), claims it’s EVM compatible, riding on BTC’s reputation, and offering devs some magical hybrid between Ethereum and Bitcoin. Basically like taping Vitalik's brain onto Satoshi’s skeleton.

Look, not here to throw shade. But you’ve gotta admit, haven’t we danced this dance before?

There’s always some “this time it is different” project, usually full of hypes, maybe one slick diagram, and a roadmap that says, Q4, Revolutionize everything. Meanwhile, most of them barely make it past mainnet without going quiet.

Curious if anyone’s done a proper look yet? I can’t tell if BTR is actually trying something new or just remixing the same tune with a shinier logo, what are your thoughts?

i get what you mean... every few months we see ( bitcoin + smart contracts ) project show up with big promises.. some fade out fast & others at least push ideas forward.. for me the real question is whether bitlayer is adding something that bitcoin itself can’t already do or if it’s just another copy of ethereum with a bitcoin sticker on it.. if they can prove there’s real demand from devs and users maybe it sticks but until then it feels like we should stay cautious and watch how it plays out

[TastyChillySauce00]

It will be like any other L2 for bitcoin, exist but isn't really gaining traction.

The problem here is bitcoin maxi would never look at other blockchain and the defi enjoyers are sticking to ETH. This hybrid approach seems like it has no market whatsoever.
I even preferred if they can create something like bridge that can help bridging bitcoin to EVM based chain like ethereum but with good liquidity, like thorchain but better. So if people who holds bitcoin wanted to use defi, they'd just go to ethereum with the billions TVL that they have and not in some random L2 with low liquidity and when they're done they can bridge it to bitcoin blockchain again.

But I guess creating L2 is profitable since they can create token out of thin air and sell it.

[BitGoba]

Bitlayer is yet another scam. Joe Nakamoto did an investigation about crypto scams on his YouTube channel and specifically talked about Bitlayer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6rV5HlbPTM

[shinratensei_]

Curious if anyone’s done a proper look yet? I can’t tell if BTR is actually trying something new or just remixing the same tune with a shinier logo, what are your thoughts?

It is the same recycled bullshit every other bull run that happens. Any project that tries to use Bitcoins reputation to gain a following is shady. I would rather follow projects that don't have to
1. Include the "Bit" part in their name
2. Claim they are bridging a gap between Bitcoin and some other altcoins

I'm seeing the same exact pattern plays out and it's not even funny. Most of them are trying to solve the smart contract capability problem, then they don't actually resolve anything because nobody uses that chain.
If bitcoin holders want NFT and tokens, they would've stick with ordinal, but even ordinal is fading right now.

Feels like they're just riding on the bitcoin hype train in every bullish cycle.

[Perfectbaby]

This not the first project coming up with this new innovations of Bitcoin DeFi, Bitcoin layer 2 and all these Bitcoin subchain projects but they never end well.

Mintlayer came and nothing special about it till today,

The problem I always have this so-called Bitcoin layer 2 are always using EVM address starting with 0x to maximize transactions calling it on Bitcoin protocol, that's actually not real to me.

Build on Bitcoin and use Bitcoin address that starts with bc1 or 1, let's know where you leading the users to, EVM or Bitcoin chain, I don't find a project fulfilling when they claim to be Bitcoin DeFi while still using EVM address for transactions, that's sketchy to me.

I have also been wondering how this gets to this moon where people wouldn't expect that something  this going wrong, it would be after everything has been disappeared or with by properly stop without

[MAAManda]

Curious if anyone’s done a proper look yet? I can’t tell if BTR is actually trying something new or just remixing the same tune with a shinier logo, what are your thoughts?

I haven't seen it & I'm not interested in finding out. For me, all projects with Bitcoin in their name are just hopeful projects that ultimately fail. I was curious about this token page on Coinmarketcap, I scrolled to the exchange page, it turns out Bitlayer (BTR) is listed on Bitget, from that I know why you posted this here, you're part of the Bitget shiller network for Bitcointalk, right?

[asriloni]

At this point, i'm just coming to the moment when i have to ignore any of new L2 EVM caused by it will never work. We have Stack, BOB, Bitlayer, ORDI, RIF, and etc. So many L2 for Bitcoin, but have terrrible performance in the market. Majority of them give massive lost tot he people who bought it and yeah no users.

That's why i said that in the past BTC L2 is just a bullshit thing. BTC is BTC, and it doesn't need any of these L2 EVM chain that only offered gimmick by selling the name of Bitcoin.

If there will be more project claimed to be BTC L2, believe me, it has purpose only to drain up VC and retails money. It's also proving they can't comeup with a better idea than that.

[Odusko]

Bitlayer is yet another scam. Joe Nakamoto did an investigation about crypto scams on his YouTube channel and specifically talked about Bitlayer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6rV5HlbPTM

You see that part where there have to subchain that is where the scam comes in, any ways we have experienced a lot of layers 2 projects and all never ended well and to that extent we need to point out any red flag which this is such red flag and we urge people to get wary and carful with this development, investigation have revealed a lot and past events on web3 defi and all the layers 2 shortfall have thought us alot of lessons.

[d5000]

I'm still in doubt if I should disqualify this project prematurely.

They claim to use a bridge based on BitVM, which seems to be now in beta stage, see here.

The following claim is made about the inner workings:

The BitVM Bridge belongs to this generation, which represents a paradigm shift in BTC bridging. Here, Bitcoin funds are locked in addresses controlled by a BitVM smart contract, a system that requires only one honest participant to ensure security. This approach eliminates the need for centralized or distributed custodians, relying instead on the inherent transparency and verifiability of the smart contract. This makes the custodian trust-minimized, reducing the reliance on external actors and enhancing the overall security of the bridge.

BitVMBridge overview

I marked the words in bold which make me a bit suspicious. Without having read the whitepaper, a BitVM-style contract probably is not enough to guarantee that a single custodian can ensure the security of the bridge like they claim. This could be technobabble to fool people into this altcoin. And while they were announced on Coindesk, there seems to be no real technical review of this technology. If it really works as they claim, then I would really expect such a review.

Bitcoinlayers has reviewed the protocol but it seems it's the previous version of the bridge with a centralized federation. A possible red flag: only parts of the code seem to be open source.

PS: Have seen the part of the video they talk about Bitlayer. Unfortunately that doesn't really help because they make a general statement about premines and their allocation to team members being "scammy". I somewhat agree with that, but that is quite commonplace in the altcoin world including Ethereum and other big coins.