Bitlayer, a Bitcoin Layer 2 scaling platform, has announced new partnerships with three leading Bitcoin mining pools, Antpool, F2Pool, and SpiderPool.
The goal of these agreements is to strengthen the technical infrastructure needed to roll out the BitVM Bridge, an innovative protocol that brings smart contract capabilities to Bitcoin without changing its core network.
Introducing Programmable Bitcoin Through BitVM
The BitVM Bridge uses a unique framework that simulates smart contracts on Bitcoin. This setup allows Bitcoin to move into programmable environments securely, enabling its use in decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.
The bridge works through two smart contracts: one on the Bitcoin network and another on a secondary chain. Users can lock Bitcoin to receive Peg-BTC tokens, which act as Bitcoin’s representative in the DeFi world. To redeem Bitcoin, users return Peg-BTC, triggering a reverse process.
Liquidity providers assist with withdrawals and are rewarded later, while other actors help secure the system by spotting and challenging suspicious activity.
A key challenge for Bitlayer is Bitcoin’s lack of support for non-standard transactions (NSTs), which are essential for the BitVM challenge process. These NSTs follow Bitcoin’s rules but aren’t accepted by the default Bitcoin Core software. To solve this, Bitlayer has teamed up with mempool operators to build a network layer that accepts NSTs and helps them get confirmed on-chain. This makes the challenge mechanism of the BitVM Bridge more secure and reliable.
Miners Support a New Bitcoin Economy
The involvement of Antpool, F2Pool, and SpiderPool, together controlling over 36% of Bitcoin’s global hashrate, gives this project serious weight. These mining pools can now play a direct role in securing and advancing smart contract activity on Bitcoin, while also opening up new economic models. These may include collecting transaction fees, supporting future Bitcoin rollups, and enabling new financial services.
Executives from all three mining pools expressed strong support. Andy from Antpool emphasized the long-term potential for fee-based income, while Leon Liang of F2Pool pointed to the value of backing innovative Bitcoin projects. SpiderPool CTO Kenway added that the partnership enhances Bitcoin’s real-world utility and keeps miners central to the ecosystem.