Babylon launches world’s first trustless Bitcoin staking testnet

Babylon, the project that aims to build a Bitcoin-secured decentralized economy, announced the launch of the world’s first trustless Bitcoin staking testnet.

Today’s testnet launch significantly advances Babylon’s mission to enable a Bitcoin-secured Proof-of-Stake economy. Babylon’s Bitcoin Staking protocol allows Proof-of-Stake (“PoS”) systems such as PoS chains, L2s, Data Availability (DA) layers, oracles etc to acquire staking capital from bitcoin, the largest, decentralized crypto asset in the world. Through its modular design and slashing functionality, Babylon’s Bitcoin Staking Protocol will enable PoS systems to introduce bitcoin as a staking asset and enjoy higher crypto-economic security than what native tokens can provide. As a result, PoS systems will be able to utilize Babylon’s scalable staking and restaking features to unlock value from the idle, unencumbered $1 trillion Bitcoin ecosystem.

The testnet is built on BTC Signet, so that no real Bitcoin is at stake. The testnet is open to the public and is accompanied by an explorer and a user-friendly web application, enabling bitcoin holders to easily and safely test Bitcoin staking using the protocol. Users who complete the testnet process will also be able to claim a Bitcoin Staking Pioneer NFT.

“We are proud to have reached this milestone in our mission to introduce Bitcoin as a trusted security backbone for PoS systems that can not only generate yields, but also foster integrated, secure, and decentralized economies of scale,” said David Tse, Co-Founder of Babylon. “We look forward to working with PoS systems and validators to enhance our network and infrastructure as we enable Bitcoin holders to provide crypto-economic security to PoS systems and earn PoS yields by staking their bitcoins.”

“Babylon’s advanced cryptography allows Bitcoin to be used to secure PoS chains, a groundbreaking achievement,” said Jehan Tremback, from the Cosmos Hub team at Informal Systems. “This testnet launch provides a practical demonstration of how bitcoin can be staked to secure PoS chains. We are following it with great interest, and we can’t wait to integrate Babylon into the products that we build.”

The launch of its testnet represents another substantial milestone for Babylon following the successful close of its $18 million funding round in December 2023, and its recently announced collaboration with Cosmos Hub. Through this collaboration, Cosmos Hub will integrate Babylon’s Bitcoin staking protocol within the Cosmos ecosystem, which boasts a combined $2.5 billion worth of staked assets, to enable bitcoin holders to stake their bitcoins to secure the Cosmos Hub consumer chains.

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