🔥 The Bitcoin Builder Heat is on. A 1,000 stRIF prize pool is waiting for builders in the @RootstockColl campaign on RSK QuestHub. Complete the campaign to explore how the Rootstock ecosystem supports builders through grants, stRIF-powered governance, and Collective Rewards designed to drive long-term growth across @rootstock_io Ready to climb the leaderboard? Join the campaign ↓ #Rootstock# #BitcoinDeFi# #Web3Builders# #stRIF# #BitcoinBuilders#

🔥 Stash Labs successfully completed an end-to-end demo for RGB assets natively on the Lightning Network! Powered by Bitlight Labs' rgbldkd node implementation, we nailed a full RGB20 token lifecycle in 13 steps: ✅ RGB20 token issuance & off-chain distribution ✅ Dual-asset Lightning Channel setup (BTC + RGB) ✅ Instant RGB LN transfers (no on-chain confirmations, millisecond settlement) ✅ BTC ↔ RGB atomic swaps via Hold Invoices This RGB + Lightning fusion leverages Bitcoin's underlying security, unlocking a new era of Bitcoin-native DeFi with unrivaled privacy and scalability! 📄 Full Validation Docs: 💻 Open Source Code: #Bitcoin# #LightningNetwork# #RGBProtocol# #BitcoinDeFi# #BitlightLabs#

Bitcoin DeFi without permission means tools get built by whoever needs them. Matchbox is one of those. Community-built. It runs on Mezo Earn so veBTC and veMEZO lockers can find each other. Check it out 🔽

BITCOIN RAILS #59#: Post-Quantum Bitcoin Signatures (+ their tradeoffs) | with BIP 360 co-author @Ethan_Heilman and @Blockstream Head of Research @n1ckler 🔗 YOUTUBE: 🌿 SPOTIFY: According to BIP 360 co-author Ethan Heilman, Bitcoin needs a minimum of two soft forks to become quantum resistant: P2MR (or an output type that can safely execute PQ signatures) + a post-quantum checksig (signature scheme). Ethan and the BIP 360 team (including myself and @cryptoquick) introduced the P2MR part via a BIP 360 update late last year—but the question remains, what’s the most appropriate PQ signature scheme for Bitcoin? They all have substantive tradeoffs, but hash-based signatures seem to be leading technical discourse—likely due to recent optimizations by @n1ckler and the broader @Blockstream research team. It was an honor to sit down with both of these men - arguably the two most influential and productive cryptographers in Bitcoin quantum mitigation right now - for an in-depth review of the leading PQ signature schemes and a temperature check on Bitcoin’s post-quantum planning process. TBH, if you want to skip the noise and jump straight to the signal on quantum, this is the interview to watch. In this episode, we discuss: - What needs to happen at the soft fork, infra, and mitigation levels to fully quantum-harden Bitcoin - Recent updates to BIP 360 + breakdown of the leading hash-based signatures schemes for Bitcoin (SHRINCS + SHRIMPS) - Why we may actually get consensus around a stateful scheme for Bitcoin - Comparisons of hash-based signatures vs Lattice and Isogeny-based schemes - Assessing the risks of both waiting too long and acting too fast (and why quantum is a better threat to be facing than a potential classical attack) This episode of Bitcoin Rails is brought to you by my NEW sponsors: - LayerTwo Labs @LayerTwoLabs — developing research, software, and technologies for scaling Bitcoin via the integration of Drivechains (BIP 300/301) - Hashi on @SuiNetwork — a primitive for executing Bitcoin Defi transactions, without having to trust a federated bridge or other centralized entity - BitBox @BitBoxSwiss — an open-source Bitcoin-only hardware wallet, with smooth UX and no compromises on security. Check out Bitbox [dot] swiss and use code BITCOINRAILS to get a discount TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 02:18 Ethan’s Quantum Wakeup 05:18 How Blockstream Enters Post Quantum 09:25 BIP 360 Explained 12:11 How Bitcoin Transitions to PQ 17:35 Choosing Post Quantum Signatures 23:20 How Blockstream Created SHRINCS 27:22 Signature Budgets Importance Explained 41:13 What are SHRIMPS? 44:51 SHRIMPS vs SHRINCS 47:48 Why SLH-DSA Alone Won’t Cut It 49:24 Is a SHRIMPS + SHRINCS BIP Coming? 51:51 Blockstream’s Big Plans for Liquid 59:04 Quantum Readiness Roadmap 01:02:22 Importance of a PQ Recovery Plan 01:05:35 How Long Would a PQ Migration Take 01:11:17 Quantum Watchlist Recommendations

Since August 17th ↓ • Bitcoin $BTC: +27% • Stacks $STX: +116% If you’ve been here since the 2021 cycle, you may recall all the discussions about $STX being a beta play for $BTC. Could this still be the case in 2026? Let’s do some analysis ↓ 1️⃣ BTC won the asset race, now it needs an economy. Bitcoin has the largest balance sheet in crypto. US spot BTC ETFs are now sitting around $99B in net assets, with $2.8B flowing in over the past eight trading days. Public companies hold more than 1.2M BTC across nearly 200 listed firms. That is a lot of capital being accumulated. But only around 267K $BTC is currently tracked in DeFi (1.3% of Bitcoin’s eventual 21M supply). Compared to @Ethereum or @Solana, very little BTC is actively used onchain outside of just hodling. So lending, liquidity, yield, and collateral markets are all still extremely early on Bitcoin, and that is exactly the gap Stacks has been building to fill. 2️⃣ Bitcoin Staking & $STX. The Genesis Bond begins around Bitcoin block 966,350, currently projected for September 10. The first cycle is deliberately limited to approved institutions, but the mechanism matters more than the initial size: $BTC holders time-lock Bitcoin on L1 under their own keys and pair it with STX to form a protocol bond. The BTC never leaves Bitcoin, and there is no bridge and no third party taking custody of the coins. $STX is the capacity asset that makes the system work, while also being used for fees, consensus, and BTC rewards through Proof of Transfer. More BTC entering these bonds = more STX capacity is required alongside it. 3️⃣ Where does the yield come from? The initial target is around 3% APY in $BTC over a six-month bond period. That yield comes from miner bids through Proof of Transfer: Stacks miners spend BTC to compete for STX block rewards, and that BTC is redistributed to participants. PoX has already paid out more than 4,200 BTC since 2021, so the reward source itself is not a new promise. Bitcoin Staking is an institutional structure built around an existing mechanism. UTXO Management and HashKey Cloud will participate in the first Genesis Bond, while Fireblocks provides institutional custody infrastructure for the ecosystem. HashKey Cloud currently has HKD 29B staked across more than 40 networks, bringing another established institutional participant into the inaugural cohort. 4️⃣ The market may be front-running a Bitcoin DeFi repricing. For years, the trade was to buy BTC for the asset, then go elsewhere for onchain activity. Stacks already has $sBTC and a growing Bitcoin-native app layer. Dual Stacking had already pulled in more than $100M before this launch cycle. Bitcoin Staking connects BTC participation more directly to STX. 5️⃣ Conclusion In my view, there are three main things that still have to go right for the $STX beta-to-$BTC thesis to keep playing out. 1. Capacity has to scale. The Genesis Bond is intentionally limited and reserved for approved institutions. That is sensible for a first live cycle, but it also means the early flows will be too small to prove demand at scale on their own. 2. Demand has to outrun new STX issuance. PoX-5 restores the 1,000 STX block reward baseline. That issuance is there to maintain miner incentives and BTC-yield capacity for Bitcoin Staking. But the network still needs real BTC demand, STX locking, and ecosystem activity to absorb it. 3. Institutional interest still has to convert into sustained participation. The initial partners are a meaningful start, but not proof of a broader trend yet. I think that if even a small portion of Bitcoin’s idle capital starts moving into BTC-native yield and DeFi, $STX is one of the clearest ways to express that thesis. Definitely one to keep an eye on as the September launch gets closer. Disclosure: I'm a $STX holder.

THE STARTING BLOCK: Will Bitcoin DeFi be a lifeline for Bitcoin Treasury Companies? @IOHK_Charles says @Cardano & @pogun_io use of mirroring allows bitcoin:native holders to maintain self-custodial control while access DeFi & stablecoin functionality.