Protocol Village: ZK Proofs Arrive on Bitcoin, Former Dark Web Drug Kingpin Launches Crypto Startup

July 25: BitcoinOS, a network of Bitcoin-based rollup chains, has verified the first-ever zero-knowledge (ZK) proof on Bitcoin’s mainchain. ZK cryptography is looked to as a key technology for scaling blockchain throughput and usefulness, but the tech is complicated and computationally intense – meaning it was unclear if or when it would make its way to the comparatively bare-bones Bitcoin network. According to the BitcoinOS team, “This is the first permissionless upgrade of the Bitcoin system and the first time Bitcoin has been upgraded without a soft fork.” Bitcoin can now be “infinitely upgradable,” the team told CoinDesk, “while requiring no changes to the consensus code.” BitcoinOS aims to be the “ultimate implementation of a Bitcoin rollup system,” eventually serving as a bridge connecting any number of rollups – quick and cheap layer-2 blockchains that are secured by the Bitcoin blockchain and ZK proofs.

July 25 (PROTOCOL VILLAGE EXCLUSIVE): Roxom raised $4.3 million in pre-seed funding to launch the first stock, commodities, and futures exchange denominated in Bitcoin. The company was founded by CEO Borja Martel and CTO Nick Damico. Martel was previously a co-founder at LATAM-based crypto exchange Lemon. Roxom’s round was led by Kingsway, Draper, and David Marcus, among others. “Bitcoin native financial markets are an important step for holders to access a wide range of financial services natively. Roxom is an important step in that direction,” said Marcus.

July 25: P2P.org is set to integrate the just-launched Avail Network into its non-custodial staking platform. According to the team, the integration with Avail’s data availability network will enable “smoother cross-chain transactions, improving overall blockchain interaction.” Key highlights, according to P2P, include a “0% fee incentive for the first three months of staking AVAIL, successful testnet phases managing over 300 million requests and 37,000 concurrent connections, and the deployment of innovative solutions like a proxy balancer for enhanced network capacity.”

July 25 (PROTOCOL VILLAGE EXCLUSIVE): Bitcoin-based Layer-2 service Elastos says it has introduced native bitcoin staking for the first time ever. From the team: “Using the Elastos BeL2 SDK, partners can develop Native Bitcoin dapps aimed at encouraging the staking of over 1 Trillion dormant Bitcoins.” The SDK debuted at Bitcoin Nashville 2024, with the StarBTC demo loan app. “Elastos is the sole L2 with innovative arbiter node technology and smart contracts, facilitating dispute resolution and revenue opportunities to node holders who stake Elastos ELA or BTC,” said the team.

July 25: Unchained, a Bitcoin financial services company, is launching “Connections,” a service designed to help friends and family securely invest in Bitcoin. Connections builds on Unchained’s custody service with an interface for guiding loved ones through the process of investing and securing Bitcoin. Unchained says the new service helps with “enhancing Bitcoin’s accessibility and leveraging trusted relationships to safeguard against digital threats.”

July 25: Core, a blockchain that uses Bitcoin’s security mechanism and the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), adopted a Dual Staking model, “Bitcoin x CORE.” From the Core Foundation: “This new model builds on Core’s first-ever implementation of Non-Custodial Bitcoin Staking that acts as a Bitcoin bond layer, establishing the Bitcoin Risk-Free Rate.” Core says 55% of Bitcoin mining hash power is being actively delegated to Core, helping to secure 100+ dapps boasting $135M in TVL and 50k+ DAU. “Dual Staking is set to further solidify Core’s transformation of Bitcoin from a mere store of value into a secure, yield-bearing asset,” said the team.

Protocol Village is a regular feature of The Protocol, our weekly newsletter exploring the tech behind crypto, one block at a time. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Wednesday. Project teams can submit updates here. For previous versions of Protocol Village, please go here.