Most Bitcoin today is held, not actively used.
Not because there’s no demand, but because using Bitcoin beyond holding is complex, costly, and dependent on intermediaries where tradeoffs around trust, cost, and control aren’t always clear.
Borrowing against BTC or generating yield has traditionally required navigating fragmented infrastructure, comparing bridges, and making routing and security decisions most users shouldn’t have to make.
Today that changes with Atlas, a unified interface for moving Bitcoin and other major assets into Rootstock, Bitcoin’s DeFi Layer, making tradeoffs between speed, cost, and trust assumptions transparent.
Get started at atlas.rootstock.io
Atlas launches today in beta and will continue to evolve through collaboration with core contributors and ecosystem participants, expanding support for additional major assets, routes and blockchains over time.
The Problem: Bitcoin DeFi Has Been Too Complex
Bitcoin is increasingly being used beyond a store of value. From lending and borrowing to stablecoin usage and onchain financial applications, demand for Bitcoin-native financial use cases is growing rapidly.
But access hasn’t kept up.
Today, entering Bitcoin DeFi requires users to:
- Compare multiple bridges
- Understand different trust models
- Evaluate tradeoffs between speed, cost, and security
- Navigate multi-step wallet flows
For most users — including experienced Bitcoin holders — this is a barrier.
In fact according to a recent survey from GoMining, 77% of Bitcoin holders have never interacted with DeFi on Bitcoin, citing complexity and trust as the main reasons.
Atlas: One Interface, Multiple Paths
Atlas removes that friction — without hiding the tradeoffs. Instead of navigating fragmented tools, users can access multiple native and third-party routes in one place, allowing them to:
- Compare options across speed, cost, and trust assumptions
- Understand tradeoffs between routes
- Choose the path that fits their needs
- Execute in a single, guided flow
Rather than abstracting complexity away, Atlas makes it visible and actionable — giving users confidence in how they move assets into Rootstock.
For Bitcoiners and crypto natives
Atlas simplifies how assets move into Rootstock while making key decisions more transparent.
Users can:
- See how routes compare
- Understand tradeoffs
- Act with greater clarity and confidence
For institutions
Atlas introduces secure, policy-aware access paths into Rootstock through custody integrations, starting with Fordefi and Utila with Cobo and Fireblocks support coming soon. These integrations allow institutions to enter Rootstock while maintaining control over execution policies and risk exposure.
For developers, builders and fintechs
Atlas will soon include a wallet-agnostic SDK, allowing teams to integrate asset movement directly into wallets, apps, and point-of-sale systems.
Users can move Bitcoin into Rootstock and immediately use it, to borrow, earn, or deploy capital. All without leaving their product.
The Atlas SDK makes Rootstock the most direct way to integrate Bitcoin as productive capital, enabling applications where Bitcoin is not just held, but actively used.
Closing the Gap Between Demand and Adoption
Bitcoin-native finance is already a multi-billion dollar market, with growing demand for:
- Lending and borrowing
- Stablecoin usage
- Onchain capital deployment
But adoption has lagged.
Because while infrastructure has matured, access remains fragmented and opaque.
Atlas addresses this directly:
It doesn’t replace the infrastructure — it makes it understandable and usable.
A Foundation for What Comes Next
Atlas is a routing and decision layer for accessing Rootstock.
By separating the user experience from underlying infrastructure, Atlas allows new technologies to be integrated over time, including Union Bridge, a trust-minimized open source BTC bridge developed by Fairgate and RootstockLabs powered by BitVMX.
Expanding Access to Bitcoin-Secured Finance
Atlas launches in Beta with support for:
- BTC (Bitcoin and Lightning)
- ETH
- USDC
- USDT
- and more
Support for additional chains is coming soon. As new assets and routes are added, Atlas will:
- Expand access
- Reduce onboarding friction
- Improve routing transparency
From Access to Participation
Making Bitcoin usable in financial applications requires more than infrastructure.
It requires:
- Clear entry points
- Transparent decisions
- Reliable execution
Atlas provides that first step.
By simplifying how users enter the system, it enables what comes next:
- Deploying capital
- Accessing financial applications
- Participating in Bitcoin-secured onchain systems
