Babylon Labs brings new momentum to Bitcoin ZK technology across the bridge to the universe

Babylon Labs, developer of the largest BTC collection protocol, is building a low-trust Bitcoin bridge with the Cosmos network to enhance the world’s oldest interoperability of blockchain technology.

In partnership with Bitcoin developers Fiamma, Babylon uses the BitVM2 computing model, which is designed to allow Ethereum-style smart contracts on Bitcoin, which then paves the way for zero-knowledge technology.

Zero-knowledge accounts allow different parties to verify the accuracy of information without actually revealing to each other what the information is. In this sense, it is fundamental for linking digital assets between different blockchains.

Developers like Babylon Labs and Fiamma aim to open up the deep wells of value stored in BTC to fund other ecosystems and allow their transactions on blockchains free of some of Bitcoin’s speed and volume limitations.

This forms part of a broader movement to extract greater utility from Bitcoin, similar to what is popular on networks such as Ethereum. Babylon’s Bitcoin staking protocol, one of the most important projects in the sector, is described as a way to… Use BTC to secure other protocols and decentralized applications Its total value locked (TVL) is approximately $5.5 billion.

Introduction to the predecessor of BitVM2 by Robin Linus October 2023 was hailed as a breakthrough for making Bitcoin more programmableby enabling a backlog pool that can handle transactions faster and cheaper without compromising security. This can then allow bridges to securely transfer BTC to the pool, and later return the BTC so deposits can be withdrawn.

BitVM has inspired a lot of enthusiasm among developers who have built projects on Bitcoin, including some focused on communicating with other networks. Zero-Knowledge Accumulator Citrea, powered by Galaxy Digital, It deployed a BitVM-based bridge on the Bitcoin testnet last September. It is designed to be compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), the smart contract execution software that runs the Ethereum protocol.

Read more: Could Bitcoin become the DeFi security of choice? Lombard Finance says so