Overview

With the rapid development of cryptocurrency, Bitcoin and Ethereum have emerged as the two largest ecosystems in the industry. Bitcoin, as the earliest blockchain application, is often referred to as "digital gold" due to its security and value storage properties, holding a significant position in the cryptocurrency market. On the other hand, Ethereum, as a versatile blockchain technology platform, offers extensive possibilities for the development of smart contracts and decentralized applications (DApps).

As blockchain technology continues to evolve, the demand for cross-chain integration from Bitcoin to Ethereum has steadily increased. As of March 2022, approximately $218 billion in assets were locked in cross-chain protocols, with Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) accounting for over 50% of the share. However, more than 90% of the bridges facilitating cross-chain asset transfers employ centralized custodial methods. In May 2023, a multi-chain cross-chain protocol suddenly ceased operations, resulting in $1.26 billion worth of locked assets within its system being unable to transfer.

"Which method do you think is safer: storing Bitcoin with commercial custodians or decentralized nodes distributed across many?"

Currently, Bitcoin custody services hold a considerable market share within the industry. Many compliant institutions provide custody services to users while continuously updating and upgrading security technologies. However, no one can guarantee absolutely that events like the "Mt. Gox Bitcoin theft" will not happen again. If a large-scale custodial institution encounters security issues, it may not only affect related operations but also potentially disrupt the entire Web3 industry. (Reference: "Mt. Gox" incident)

To avoid human-made losses due to centralized custody, rexBTC has introduced Discreet Log Contracts technology, an innovation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This technology enables application developers to easily integrate native Bitcoin into their applications. The rexBTC platform locks Bitcoin in on-chain custody, enabling it to be utilized by Ethereum and other smart contract blockchain networks. This "trustless bridge" provides possibilities for lending, trading, derivatives, and more.

rexBTC is set to launch on the Blast mainnet in February 2024 as a non-custodial Bitcoin wrapping solution.