The BOB network, based on Bitcoin, has raised $21 million in strategic funding rounds since December 2024, including $9.5 million in the latest round.
Strategic funding for BOB
According to a press release, many existing investors have increased their financial commitments in the latest strategic round. These include Castle Island, Anchorage, Amber Group, and sats Ventures. Nic Carter, founding partner at Castle Island, stated:
> "We also continue to believe that Bitcoin will be the bedrock of DeFi, and we think BOB will be a marquee L2."
Key technologies and BOB's future
Dominik Harz, BOB's chief technology officer, noted that the company’s next major milestone is launching the BitVM bridge into production. It would allow native Bitcoin to be used in DeFi on BOB and facilitate BTC transfers to other chains. BOB plans to launch BTC-staked finality by the end of 2025, enabling BTC-secured bridges to Solana, Ethereum, Sui, and other smart contract chains. Harz added:
> "Users, institutions, apps and wallets everywhere will be able to access native BTC DeFi via BOB."
Benefits of using native Bitcoin in DeFi
Previously, Bitcoin DeFi largely relied on centralized institutions or wrapped Bitcoin tokens. However, BitVM2 allows users to interact with DeFi applications using their native BTC directly—no custody, no wrapping required. This is achieved through practical fraud proofs, allowing users to enforce trust-minimized bridging between the Bitcoin L1 and BOB.
The BOB network continues to develop the DeFi ecosystem around Bitcoin, offering users new opportunities to interact with decentralized finance while retaining control over their assets.
