Avalanche created a bridge solution to the Bitcoin network. Ava Labs has released the bridge in its browser-based web3 wallet Core.
Ava Labs launched a new bridge solution that allows users to transfer funds directly between the Bitcoin network and Avalanche. This Layer 1 blockchain is highly performant and compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine.
Ava Labs launched the Avalanche/Bitcoin bridge on Wednesday as part of its new web3 wallet Core. The top crypto asset will be tokenized as an Avalanche token called BTC.b. This will allow it to be used on Avalanche’s DeFi protocols, including Platypus or TraderJoe.
The bridging process involves locking up bitcoins and issuing Avalanche tokens in an equal amount. This process is called wrapping. The team claims that the bridge’s wrapping is not custodial unlike other Ethereum-based tokenized bitcoin solutions like wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC).
There is one bitcoin for every WBTC on Ethereum. This smart contract is centrally controlled and can be accessed by anyone. Some critics feel this exposes users to trust issues and counter-party risk. Ava Labs claims that its bridge is not affected by the same problems.
“We are wrapping BTC to BTC.b.” The only difference is that we start with native BTC instead of wrapping WBTC on Ethereum, then wrap the asset on Avalanche until BTC.b,” Ava Labs spokesperson told The Block.
The browser extension page for the bridge states that the bridge uses Intel SGX (Software Guard Extensions), which is the same technology used by Avalanche to connect with Ethereum. This bridge will allow bitcoin users to access Avalanche subnets like Swimmer and DeFi Kingdoms in the future.
