Bitcoin’s DeFi Evolution

Bitcoin has always been the cornerstone of the crypto ecosystem: trusted, decentralized, and secure. But despite its dominance, Bitcoin has remained largely isolated from the decentralized finance (DeFi) revolution. For Bitcoin holders to participate in DeFi, they have had to rely on wrapped tokens, custodial bridges, and third-party validators, all of which undermine the principles of security and sovereignty.

That is now changing.

Portal to Bitcoin is integrating with Babylon Genesis to expand the first fully self-custodial, cross-chain infrastructure stack designed specifically for Bitcoin. This integration brings together Portal’s revolutionary Channel Factory based BItScaler technology and Babylon Genesis’ BTC-secured PoS technology to create a new foundation for Bitcoin’s role in DeFi that eliminates wrapped assets and custodians while preserving performance, rewards, and composability.

A Composable Infrastructure Built for Trustlessness

This collaboration introduces a Bitcoin-native infrastructure stack that integrates capital and consensus layers while maintaining full decentralization.

• Babylon Genesis will allow users to stake BTC through a self-custodied Bitcoin staking protocol on the Bitcoin blockchain to help secure Portal’s proof-of-stake notary chain. Babylon Genesis introduces Bitcoin-enforced timestamping and slashing logic, making Portal’s validator layer more secure than traditional token-based consensus models.
• Portal to Bitcoin, powered by its BitScaler, will enable atomic, native-to-native swaps and other complex transactions between native BTC and assets like ETH and SOL. By implementing a modified version of channel factory, BitScaler creates multiple peer-to-peer channels from a single on-chain transaction. This design uses Taproot, policy scripting, and validator coordination to build scalable liquidity across chains without vaults, multisig custody, wrapped assets, or bridges.

Together, these systems establish a fully trust-minimized DeFi infrastructure rooted in Bitcoin’s security, sovereignty, and simplicity.

Bitcoin Rewired: Security Without Custody

Historically, Bitcoin’s participation in DeFi has come at the cost of control. Wrapped tokens and custodial bridges introduce risk, censorship points, and friction. This integration solves that problem at the protocol level.

Portal to Bitcoin and Babylon Genesis each approach the challenge of Bitcoin custody differently:

Trading

• (Portal to Bitcoin) Native BTC swaps with ETH and SOL
• (Babylon Genesis) Rewards on staked BTC assets like LBTC

Security

• (Portal to Bitcoin) Custodyless validator infrastructure via BitScaler
• (Babylon Genesis) Timestamping on Bitcoin and fully slashable PoS

Rewards

• (Portal to Bitcoin) Non-custodial LP pools in BTC base pairs like BTC to USDC
• (Babylon Genesis) BTC staking rewards on Babylon Genesis-secured chains

Core Tech

• (Portal to Bitcoin) BitScaler with Taproot and policy-based scripting
• (Babylon Genesis) Covenant emulation and EOTS-based slashing

As part of the integration, Babylon Genesis’ timestamping protocol will be used to anchor Portal DEX validator checkpoints and trade events directly to the Bitcoin blockchain, ensuring a canonical, immutable audit trail on the world’s most secure and censorship-resistant ledger without ever holding user funds.

What’s Coming to the Ecosystem

The integration between Portal and Babylon Genesis is in development and, once live, will unlock powerful new capabilities for Bitcoin in DeFi:

• Stake BTC through Babylon Genesis to secure Portal’s notary chain in a self-custodial way
• Record Portal DEX validator activity directly to Bitcoin for censorship-resistant finality
• Enable trustless trading of Native BTC to Babylon Genesis-issued BTC staking assets like Lombard BTC (LBTC) and future liquid staking tokens
• Earn rewards on native BTC through non-custodial LPs in markets such as BTC to USDC, without bridging or wrapping

Each element of this integration is being designed to function natively with Bitcoin and to uphold the highest standards of decentralization and user sovereignty.

What This Means for Bitcoin

This is a turning point for Bitcoin’s utility in Web3. No longer limited to passive holding or wrapped derivatives, Bitcoin can now become an active participant in decentralized finance infrastructure.

• For users: A way to trade, stake, and earn with BTC while retaining full control of funds
• For developers: A permissionless toolkit for building with native Bitcoin across multiple chains
• For the ecosystem: A transition from custodial workarounds to true Layer 3 infrastructure that upholds Bitcoin’s original ethos

This integration gives Bitcoin the infrastructure it needs to serve as both capital and consensus without ever leaving its base layer, while simultaneously benefiting from the scalability and composability of Layer 3 technology.

The Future of Bitcoin Is Active

This is the new era for Bitcoin, where your keys truly mean your crypto. With Portal to Bitcoin’s BitScaler technology and Babylon Genesis, Bitcoin will no longer sit on the sidelines. It will power decentralized applications, secure proof-of-stake networks, and unlock composable, custodyless financial primitives.

No bridges
No wrapped tokens
No compromises

Bitcoin is finally moving trustlessly across chains through true Layer 3 scalability, and this is only the beginning.

About Portal to Bitcoin

Portal to Bitcoin, formerly known as Portal DeFi, is a trust-minimized protocol designed for fast, secure atomic swaps between Bitcoin and other blockchain assets. Powered by BitScaler, Portal enables non-custodial trading across multiple blockchains without relying on intermediaries. Backed by Coinbase Ventures, OKX Ventures, and Arrington Capital, Portal ensures user funds are always secure without the need for bridging or wrapping, focusing on providing deep Bitcoin liquidity and enhancing trading efficiency.

For more information, visit Portal to Bitcoin.
Follow us on Twitter (X), Discord, Medium, LinkedIn, and Telegram.

About Babylon Labs

Babylon Labs focuses on Bitcoin security-sharing protocols with a vision of building a Bitcoin-secured decentralized world. The latest software development is the world’s first trustless and self-custodial Bitcoin staking protocol, which enables Bitcoin holders to stake their BTC on other decentralized systems such as PoS chains, L2s, Data Availability (DA) layers, etc, enabling stakers to earn staking rewards without the need for third-party custody, bridge solutions, or wrapping services. The greater idea is to combine the high security and wide adoption of Bitcoin with the efficiency and scalability of PoS systems, increasing Bitcoin’s utility.

For more information about Babylon Labs, a developer of the Babylon Bitcoin staking protocol, visit: Website | Twitter (X) | Discord | Linkedin