Bitfinity Network, a new Bitcoin layer-2 (L2) solution, has launched with $12 million in funding to create Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible decentralized finance (DeFi) functionality for Bitcoin.

The project acquired support from institutional investors like Polychain and ParaFi earlier in 2024, alongside $5 million in over-the-counter (OTC) token sales — primarily contributed by the community. 

A news release shared with Cointelegraph said that the Bitcoin L2 will utilize Internet Computer Protocol’s (ICP) Chain Fusion Technology to enable Bitcoin-native assets “to operate in an Ethereum-compatible ecosystem.”

After the price of BTC recently broke $92,000 and interest in the asset’s utility grows beyond a store of value, fresh L2 solutions are opening new avenues for Bitcoin ( BTC ).

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Backing from investors

The funding round included $7 million from notable backers, including Polychain’s Beacon Fund, ParaFi, Draft Ventures and Warburg Serres, among others.

Supported by grassroots contributors and crypto influencers, the additional $5 million raised mainly through the community will help drive the adoption and development of the Bitfinity Network platform.

A spokesperson from Bitfinity told Cointelegraph, “With institutional ETFs on the horizon and a new regime marking Bitcoin more accessible to institutions,” the platform is seeing a shift in dynamics.

“At Bitfinity, we’re [...] pioneering a side-chain infrastructure layer to boost scalability, unlock cross-chain functionality, and broaden Bitcoin’s applications.”

Related: Internet Computer crosschain protocol usage up 13x amid Bitcoin DeFi boom

Security improvements and DApp hosting plans

A Bitfinity spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the security of its L2 network is reinforced with “a robust proof-of-stake protocol leveraging Chain-Key technology.”

“Chain-Key supports large signing committees capable of handling Bitcoin Schnorr and ECDSA transactions, offering stronger security than traditional multi-sigs used by most L2s.”

The spokesperson said the ecosystem has plans to host decentralized applications (DApps) like Sonic, Chapswap, Lendfinity and Omnity Bridge.

“Bitfinity has backing from the founder of Liquity, which was a billion-dollar TVL borrowing and lending protocol, and we have plans to introduce similar solutions to our platform soon.”

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Internet Computer usage up 13x

Spurred by BTC-native applications, ICP’s crosschain messaging protocol Chain Fusion saw a usage spike of 1,230% year-over-year, per a Nov. 4 report by developer The Dfinity Foundation.

The spike was attributable to BTC apps like Rainbow Protocol, Tap Protocol and Bitfinity, which use ICP to deploy smart contracts and complex programming on the BTC network.

The Dfinity Foundation told Cointelegraph that Chain Fusion makes smart contracts for BTC possible through ICP by “directly” interacting with the network “without using trusted bridges.”

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