tBTC Becomes the First Incentivized BTC Asset on EigenLayer

[PRESS RELEASE – New York, NY, September 17th, 2024]

• tBTC on EigenLayer offers users new restaking opportunities to earn rewards as Bitcoin demand outpaces other crypto markets
• EigenLayer’s adoption of tBTC spotlights tBTC’s role as one of the most decentralized assets for securely growing the BitcoinFi ecosystem

Threshold Network, the DAO behind tBTC, the first decentralized asset bridging Bitcoin and Ethereum, announced that EigenLayer, the restaking protocol built by Eigen Labs, has officially started accepting tBTC deposits, making tBTC the first incentivized bitcoin asset on EigenLayer.

Threshold’s integration with EigenLayer underscores the BitcoinFi community’s outpaced demand for staked Bitcoin—a major shift towards maximizing the full earning power of Bitcoin for users,” commented MacLane Wilkison, Contributor to Threshold. “It is a testament to tBTC’s strength in securing the BitcoinFi ecosystem through the diversification of assets available. To date, leading protocols including Curve, GMX, and Compound, among others, have integrated the asset for its flexibility as one of most decentralized wrapped assets on the market.”

The Threshold Network DAO, which governs tBTC, offers incentives of up to $45K in T over the first 3 months for new users who deposit tBTC into EigenLayer. With Eigenlayer, users have a new way to maximize capital efficiency: opting in to secure additional protocols through restaking. This method strengthens economic security by leveraging Bitcoin’s stability—an asset that accounts for over 50% of the total crypto market cap—and merging its long-term non-inflationary nature with the Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus model. Notably, restaking just 7% of Bitcoin’s total supply would provide the same level of economic security as Ethereum, underscoring Bitcoin’s potential as a PoS asset.

“The inclusion of Threshold’s tBTC as a restakeable asset on EigenLayer is another major step forward towards open innovation by building connectivity with the bitcoin ecosystem, broadening the scope of assets that can contribute to securing decentralized networks, and providing greater optionality and utility for AVSs and restakers,” stated Sreeram Kannan, Founder and CEO of Eigen Labs.

Following the emergence of Bitcoin staking projects like Babylon, Lombard, and Acre, EigenLayer’s adoption of tBTC is a testament to the power of Bitcoin restaking in incentivizing users to put Bitcoin to use beyond a store of value. tBTC’s ability to bridge the Bitcoin and Ethereum ecosystem makes it the optimal solution for driving the development of the BitcoinFi ecosystem.

About Threshold Network:

Threshold Network offers decentralized cryptography services that enhance privacy and security on public blockchains by distributing operations across independent nodes. Powered by the T token, users can stake and operate nodes to support key services like tBTC, a Bitcoin bridge, and TACo, an access control tool. By minimizing reliance on centralized entities, Threshold ensures trustless, secure, and privacy-focused solutions for decentralized applications in the evolving Web 3.0 landscape. To learn more, please visit: https://threshold.network/

About EigenLayer:

EigenLayer is a protocol built on Ethereum that pioneered restaking, a new primitive in cryptoeconomic security. Through a system of interconnected smart contracts, any ERC-20 token, such as tBTC, can be “restaked” to participate in not one, but any number of Actively Validated Services (AVSs) in exchange for fees and/or rewards. Operators opt into these opportunities by running additional node software and in some cases grant the EigenLayer smart contracts the ability to impose additional slashing conditions on their assets as specified by the AVS.