The Renaissance of the 15th & 16th centuries saw architects, scientists, and artists create some of the most inspiring works of human ingenuity. The rediscovery of lost knowledge and new technologies were the catalysts behind an incredibly fruitful era of creation.

A similar renaissance is now happening in Web3, where developers have been freed to build on the most ancient (in crypto terms), powerful, and asset-rich blockchain—Bitcoin—in ways that were never before possible. Protocols like Babylon, Core, and many others are allowing us to integrate BTC to not only help secure more modern blockchains but also flood the decentralized financial world with Bitcoin’s nearly $2T market cap.

This new movement has become known as BTCFi.

Learn more about BTCFi

A Revival of Interest in Bitcoin & Building BTCFi

Developers are flocking to Bitcoin DeFi (BTCFi), drawn by the surge of innovation in Bitcoin staking, rollups, and applications that are transforming the network into a hub of new possibilities. Total Value Locked (TVL) is climbing, institutional interest is soaring, and Bitcoin liquidity is finally flowing on-chain at an unprecedented scale.

However, there’s a problem. The infrastructure for developers is stuck in the past. If you’ve ever built a DeFi app on Ethereum, you know the smooth, seamless experience:

• Plug into reliable RPC endpoints for your smart contracts.
• Access instant, indexed blockchain data via APIs.
• Leverage a wealth of SDKs, frameworks, and templates for faster building.
• Utilize staking and validator infrastructure for economic security.

But for BTCFi? None of this existed at scale, until now.

Asphere’s Bitcoin Secured Infrastructure (BSI) is the first and only full-stack infra provider purpose-built for BTCFi. We’ve proven ourselves as the top infrastructure provider for Ethereum DeFi, powering thousands of applications (8 billion daily RPC requests), and now we’re bringing that same level of scalability, speed, and reliability to Bitcoin DeFi.

BTCFi’s Infrastructure Challenges

Lack of scalable high-performance RPC’s

Bitcoin nodes weren’t designed for DeFi-level transaction volume. They weren’t built for dApps, smart contracts, or high-frequency interactions. This results in the following:

• Developers face slow response times and unstable RPC endpoints when connecting to Bitcoin or BTC L2s.
• Rollups and L2s lack scalable node infrastructure, making application deployment difficult.
• Most public RPCs are overloaded, and self-hosting is expensive and unreliable.

No real-time data indexing = slow, inefficient apps

Ethereum developers can instantly query transactions, balances, and smart contract events. On Bitcoin? There’s no standardized data layer. BTCFi developers today:

• Manually track blockchain data, slowing applications.
• Lack of access to real-time DeFi data, makes lending, staking, and trading inefficient.
• Cannot easily build BTC-based dApps without proper APIs.

Imagine trying to build Uniswap or Aave on Ethereum - without The Graph, without reliable RPCs. That’s the current state of BTCFi.

Insufficient developer frameworks

Unlike Ethereum’s rich ecosystem of frameworks and tools, where developers can quickly launch projects using well-supported frameworks, Bitcoin DeFi (BTCFi) lacks the same level of infrastructure.

• Complicated smart contract deployment for Bitcoin-native scripting.
• Lack of developer-friendly interoperability tools.
• No pre-built infrastructure modules means building from scratch.

To come up to speed with Ethereum’s rapid innovation cycle, BTCFi needs ready-to-use infrastructure templates that streamline deployment and eliminate technical bottlenecks.

Asphere’s BSI: Igniting BTCFi With Ethereum-Grade Infrastructure

Bitcoin Secured Infrastructure (BSI) from Asphere (Ankr’s enterprise services arm) has quickly closed BTCFi’s infrastructure gap with:

High-Performance Bitcoin & BTCFi RPCs

Asphere’s globally distributed RPC network ensures developers have instant, reliable access to Bitcoin and Bitcoin Layer 2s.

• Scalable, high-speed Bitcoin RPCs optimized for DeFi, staking, and rollups.
• Enterprise-grade reliability eliminates congestion and downtime.
• Load-balanced global infrastructure ensures seamless performance.

Real-Time Data Indexing & Developer APIs

BTCFi lacks standardized blockchain indexing and data APIs. Asphere BSI brings Ethereum-grade data infrastructure to Bitcoin.

• Instant API access to BTCFi transaction history, balances, and DeFi activity.
• Optimized for rollups, lending, and liquidity protocols that need real-time data.

Pre-Built Infrastructure Templates for Babylon and Beyond

Developers shouldn’t have to build everything from scratch to launch in BTCFi. Asphere BSI provides ready-to-use infrastructure templates, starting with Babylon, Bitcoin’s first modular security layer.

Babylon Use Case: Bitcoin’s Modular Security Layer

Babylon enables developers to integrate Bitcoin-backed security into POS chains.

Asphere BSI provides plug-and-play infrastructure templates for fast Babylon deployments.

• Cosmos SDK + EVM-compatible deployment stacks to build Babylon-secured chains.
• Pre-configured validator nodes to bootstrap Babylon-based networks.
• Seamless RPC and indexing support for Babylon’s BTC staking mechanisms.

Instead of spending months setting up infrastructure, developers can launch Babylon-based networks in days.

Bitcoin DeFi is still in its early stages, and every project is building its infrastructure from the ground up, which is not scalable. Ethereum saw massive adoption because developers could deploy quickly using well-supported frameworks.

Asphere BSI is bringing that same ease of development to BTCFi. With our infrastructure templates for Babylon, Stacks, Botanix, and more, developers can launch faster, scale easier, and innovate without infrastructure bottlenecks.

The Future of BTCFi Depends on Infrastructure - BSI is Here To Deliver

Bitcoin DeFi is moving fast:

• Billions of dollars in liquidity are entering BTCFi.
• New Layer 2s, rollups, and staking protocols are launching every month.

However, none of this can scale without proper infrastructure. Ethereum DeFi only exploded after high-performance infra providers like Asphere stepped in. Now, it’s Bitcoin’s turn.

For developers who are::

• Building a Bitcoin Secured Network, rollup, or DA layer - BSI provides comprehensive infra.
• Developing a staking or lending protocol - BSI ensures your transactions and validators run securely.
• Creating a Bitcoin-based DeFi app - BSI gives you Ethereum-level APIs & data indexing.

In short, Asphere BSI is providing the foundation BTCFi developers need to build, scale, and secure the next generation of Bitcoin-powered applications.

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