Decentralized blockchain infrastructure provider Ankr is planning to incorporate Bitcoin liquid staking tokens into Talus, a blockchain platform focusing on artificial intelligence, beginning May 1.

Ankr stated that Bitcoin is the oldest blockchain with the highest liquidity but previously this liquidity was limited to the Bitcoin L1. Through Ankr's liquid staking service, users can stake Bitcoin using various restaking protocols, allowing them to earn additional staking rewards while also enabling other ecosystems to access Bitcoin liquidity.

To participate in Bitcoin decentralized finance (DeFi), users delegate their BTC to an operator in a restaking protocol, which serves as collateral for Ankr to create BTC liquid staking tokens (LSTs). In Talus specifically, these Bitcoin LSTs can be utilized to support the blockchain's smart agents or AI assistants for various applications like travel booking, online shopping, and portfolio management.

Smart agents on Talus can perform multilayer atomic swaps and carry them out in a single transaction to prevent security vulnerabilities like flash loan attacks. Talus mentioned that Ankr's BTC liquid staking significantly increases liquidity, ensuring smooth execution of simultaneous DeFi transactions, such as atomic swaps by smart agents on the platform.

Ankr unveiled its initial Bitcoin liquid staking product in early March in partnership with the Babylon protocol. This project allows users to earn yields from their unused bitcoins securely by using them as collateral to mint LSTs, which are then utilized to validate transactions on proof-of-stake blockchains.

Yields generated from staked LSTs are returned to users' locked Bitcoin. The Babylon protocol is presently in the testnet stage, with plans for a mainnet launch later this year.

Despite the ongoing market correction, the Bitcoin DeFi sector has been flourishing, introducing new protocols like Ordinals, Inscriptions, Atomicals, and Runes over the past year.

One standout project, SolvBTC, a protocol for generating yields across multiple blockchains, has accumulated a total locked value of $700 million through its yield-bearing Bitcoin on platforms like Arbitrum, Merlin, and BNB Smart Chain. According to a statement provided to Cointelegraph, SolvBTC reported staking over 10,000 BTC and attracting more than 92,000 participants shortly after its recent launch earlier this month.