Decentralized finance (DeFi) on the Bitcoin blockchain remains relatively nascent compared to Ethereum, but Bitcoin DeFi (BTCFi) is becoming increasingly safer and more affordable, according to crypto analytics firm Messari in a recent report. A key player in this space is Rootstock, one of Bitcoin's oldest layer-2 projects, Messari noted in its "State of Rootstock" report released Thursday. Currently, Rootstock is secured by 81% of Bitcoin’s total hashrate, indicating that miners responsible for this hash power also validate transactions on the layer-2 network. This is a significant increase from 56% prior to the onboarding of Foundry and Spiderpool—the world’s largest and sixth-largest mining pools, respectively—back in February. Messari found that transaction fees on Rootstock are 95% lower than the average Bitcoin transaction fees and 55% less expensive than those on Ethereum. Rootstock is among several initiatives aiming to enhance Bitcoin’s utility by expanding DeFi capabilities through smart contracts, made possible by "BitVMX, " a modified version of the BitVM programming language.

Other notable Bitcoin layer-2 projects include Stacks and BOB (“Build on Bitcoin”). Additionally, Rootstock has integrated with the bridging protocol LayerZero, allowing Rootstock-native applications to connect with numerous other blockchains such as Ethereum and Solana. This growing momentum paves the way for wider BTCFi adoption throughout 2025, Messari suggests. “As BTCFi continues to expand, Rootstock is well-positioned for broader adoption through core improvements like a 60% reduction in transaction fees, alongside ongoing investments in developer education and incentive programs, ” said Messari analyst Andrew Yang.