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The Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain was never intended to accommodate smart contracts, limiting the potential for decentralized applications (DApps) in burgeoning sectors like decentralized finance (DeFi). The launch of the Stacks (STX) Layer 2 platform in 2018 was a major initiative to address this limitation. For the first time ever, DApps to leverage Bitcoin and its security mechanism became feasible, all thanks to the Stacks project.
In 2023, Velar, a leading DeFi app on Stacks, introduced its beta mainnet, offering various services that include automated market maker (AMM)–based swaps and staking. Velar’s DeFi liquidity services utilize Stacks’ smart contracts and enjoy the consensus mechanism and finality of the Bitcoin Layer 1 network — efficiency meets security!
Backed by Bitcoin’s famed security, decentralization and vast but underutilized liquidity, Velar may very well become a major competitor to the established Ethereum (ETH)-based DeFi giants, challenging their dominance in the near future.
Key Takeaways:
Velar (VELAR) is a DeFi platform for the Bitcoin network that leverages the Stacks Layer 2 protocol for its smart contract functionality.
Velar is among the pioneers of Bitcoin DeFi and offers users an AMM-based token swap service, liquidity pool provision, yield farming, staking and an IDO launchpad.
Velar’s testnet, operational in June and July 2023, attracted 165,000 users — the world record for a Bitcoin DeFi testnet. The project launched its beta mainnet in July 2023 and plans a major upgrade and the launch of its native token later in the first half of 2024.