Mar 09 2025 48 mins 10
Welcome to The Gwart Show! Today, Willem from Botanix Labs joins us to discuss their pioneering "spider chain" approach for Bitcoin's second layer. Unlike traditional rollups, Botanix creates a decentralized network of multi-sig validators to bring EVM capabilities to Bitcoin while maintaining censorship resistance. Willem explains why decentralization matters for DeFi applications, how their validator system works with Bitcoin staking, and why they've chosen a different path than rollups. With mainnet launch planned for Q2, Botanix aims to enable Bitcoin holders to use their BTC in familiar DeFi applications without sacrificing security.
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Notes:
- Spider chains prioritize decentralization over speed
- Botanix launching mainnet in Q2 2025
- Initial 15 validators expanding to hundreds
- Block time is 5 seconds with ~$0.01 fees
- Uses Bitcoin as gas fee, no separate token
- Validators will stake 3-5 BTC as bond
Timestamps:
00:00 Start
00:21 Intro
01:04 Spiderchain
02:20 Proof of stake on layer 2
06:14 Risk vs reward
08:02 Spiderchain vs rollup
14:55 BitVM
16:42 ZK tech
20:34 Data availability w/ Spierchains
21:25 Data on Bitcoin chain
22:13 Alt DA
24:23 Updates on Botanix
26:47 Wen token?
28:00 Primary users?
30:27 Block interval
30:50 Decentralization design limits
32:55 Fees
33:43 Porting ETH apps to Botanix
34:52 Bitcoin staking
36:34 EVM wallet compatibility
37:28 Place in L2 ecosystem
39:35 Functional BitVM rollup?
40:32 Changes to BTC
41:16 L2 protocol consensus?
42:17 Social consensus in BTC
45:49 Ordinals & Runes
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