2025 is a transformational year for Rootstock. With major protocol upgrades, powerful new integrations, and a focus on institutional-grade security and composable DeFi infrastructure, Rootstock is becoming not only the most secure but also the most composable Bitcoin Layer 2.
From faster transactions and liquid staking to trust-minimized bridging and DeFi vaults, Rootstock is building the future of BTCFi, one upgrade at a time.
Here’s what 2025 is bringing to Rootstock:
Q1: Core Upgrades and Cross-Chain Interoperability
Lovell Network Upgrade
The year began with Lovell, a major upgrade that improves Rootstock’s consensus, enhances smart contract functionality, and introduces developer tooling for a smoother build experience. It sets the foundation for accelerated innovation and more scalable dApps secured by Bitcoin.
Gas Fee Reduction
Rootstock became significantly more cost-efficient. Thanks to the support of miners who merge-mine Rootstock, minimum gas fees dropped by 60%, lowering the barrier to entry for builders and making DeFi on Bitcoin more accessible to Rootstock users.
LayerZero and Stargate Integration
For the first time, Rootstock assets have become available in major L1 and L2 chains.
With LayerZero and Stargate, Rootstock now connects to 100+ chains, allowing rBTC and other native assets to move across ecosystems quickly and affordably. This expands composability and gives developers, users, and institutions seamless access to multi-chain liquidity.
Q2: Unlocking Yield and Liquid Staking for BTC
Bitcoin-Native Liquid Staking
With the integration of Solv Finance, Rootstock introduces liquid staking for BTC-based assets. Users can earn yield while keeping their capital liquid, a powerful unlock for both retail and institutional portfolios.
BTCFi Yield for Institutions
Rootstock’s institutional partner ecosystem goes live, connecting BTC holders with native DeFi strategies that generate sustainable, protocol-based yield. With rBTC at the center, institutions get exposure to DeFi with zero lock-ups, self custody, and Bitcoin’s PoW security.
Q3: Scaling Access, Bridging, and Lending
USDT0 Stablecoin Launch
Tether’s USDT0 has already launched on Rootstock. Built using LayerZero’s omnichain standard, it brings unified USDT liquidity to Bitcoin DeFi. This integration connects the world’s most trusted stablecoin with Bitcoin’s most secure BTCFi layer, offering a unified and composable dollar asset for Rootstock’s fast-growing DeFi ecosystem.
rBTC Bridge
Rootstock’s new native aggregator will unify the most trusted swap and bridge routes into one seamless user experience. Whether you’re a builder onboarding users or an investor bridging assets, the experience will become smoother and more user-friendly.
Reed Network Upgrade & Segwit PowPeg
Reed will activate Segwit-compatible pegouts and lay the foundation to increasing the number of pegnatories on Rootstock’s PowPeg, the most secure Bitcoin bridge that exists today.
This will make pegouts 60% cheaper and strengthen Rootstock’s decentralization and alignment with Bitcoin core principles.
Union Bridge
Union, a trust-minimized, verifiable bridge built on BitVMX, will go live on testnet. It will introduce a new bridging paradigm between Bitcoin and Rootstock, based on a 1-of-n honest assumption. This is the first step toward eliminating trusted custodians for BTC-DeFi bridging.
Parallel Transaction Execution + Faster Block Times
Scalability is also getting a big boost. Rootstock will begin testing parallel transaction execution and shorter block times, unlocking faster performance and lower latency for DeFi applications.
BTCFi Lending
A major DeFi lending protocol is going live on Rootstock, enabling Bitcoin-backed loans, collateralized borrowing, and new opportunities for capital efficiency. This will be a major milestone in building a complete, native DeFi stack secured by Bitcoin.
Q4: Mainnet Launch of Union and BTC Yield Vaults
Vetiver Network Upgrade
The Vetiver upgrade will lay the groundwork for Union to go live on mainnet. It will introduce the consensus changes needed to support Union’s trust-minimized design, alongside new precompiles and faster block times.
Union Bridge Launch on Mainnet
Union will launch on mainnet. This will be a significant moment for BTCFi: a trust-minimized bridge that lets users move BTC into Rootstock’s DeFi ecosystem without custodians.
Powered by BitVMX, Union ensures trust assumptions align with Bitcoin’s values, and unlocks a new era of secure Bitcoin DeFi on Rootstock.
Vaulted rBTC
Rootstock will introduce Vaulted rBTC, a composable, secure yield vault. It will enable diversified yield strategies across BTC, stablecoins, and RIF, designed for institutions and long-term investors seeking sustainability and security while turning idle BTC into a productive asset.
The Future of BTCFi Is Here
By the end of 2025, Rootstock will be the most complete, scalable, and secure Bitcoin Layer 2 for DeFi. With faster transactions, seamless onboarding, institutional-grade bridging, and native yield strategies, Rootstock is where Bitcoin becomes productive capital.
Whether you’re an institution looking to activate idle BTC, or a developer building the next breakout dApp, Rootstock offers the infrastructure, security, and support to scale your vision.
