On this episode of the Defiant Podcast, Charlie Hu, co-founder of Bit Layer, discusses the evolution of Bitcoin beyond its role as a store of value. The conversation addresses trends in Bitcoin programmability, the development of layer two networks, liquidity in DeFi, and adoption by institutions. Cami and Charlie discuss technical distinctions among Bitcoin scaling solutions and the integration of Bitcoin with other blockchain ecosystems. Then, they conclude by exploring practical considerations for developers and users interested in these changes.

Chapters:

00:00 - 00:17 Introduction; Bitcoin’s binary narrative debated 

00:17 - 00:28 Potential impacts of low network activity 

00:37 - 00:59 Bitlayer overview and recent platform developments 

00:59 - 01:26 Bitcoin’s price rally and changing role 

01:26 - 02:09 Guest background: early experiences in Web3 

02:09 - 03:15 Lessons from Ethereum and cross-chain growth 

03:15 - 06:06 Founding Bitlayer; motivations and industry context 

06:06 - 09:59 Network sustainability and security considerations 

09:59 - 16:00 Bit Layer’s technology focus and design choices 

16:00 - 30:08 Bitcoin Virtual Machines and cross-ecosystem cooperation 

30:08 - 45:00 Unlocking Bitcoin liquidity; DeFi adoption and risks 

45:00 - 52:00 Institutional involvement and new use cases 

52:00 - End Onboarding, governance, and next steps for the ecosystem