Key Points
- Bitcoin protocol Surge has secured $1.8 million in pre-seed funding to address Bitcoin’s scalability challenges.
- Surge’s solution, the MetaLayer, aims to unlock Bitcoin’s potential as a global currency and a foundation for innovation.
Surge, a protocol focusing on Bitcoin, has amassed $1.8 million in pre-seed capital. This funding will be used to tackle the ongoing scalability issues within the Bitcoin network.
The goal is to pave the way for billions of dollars in liquidity from the decentralized finance (defi) space.
Unlocking Bitcoin’s Potential
Surge aims to unlock the “full potential of Bitcoin as a global currency and a base layer for innovation,” according to a press release.
The initiative is backed by companies such as Autonomy, Gerstenbrot Capital, and Double Peak Group, along with angel investors like CoinGecko co-founders Bobby Ong and TM Lee.
Surge plans to overcome the limitations of previous scalability solutions like SegWit and Taproot.
The MetaLayer Approach
The startup’s strategy, known as the MetaLayer, leverages Bitcoin’s security model. This approach does not necessitate soft or hard forks and integrates cryptographic techniques like zero-knowledge proofs and Inter-Blockchain Communication.
In order to accomplish its objectives, Surge has partnered with Movement Labs. This collaboration is intended to bring liquidity to Move-based decentralized finance.
Developers can interoperate between the Bitcoin and Move ecosystems as a result of these efforts.
Surge co-founder Yash Belavadi stated that the funding would allow the startup to provide “scaling infrastructure so teams can focus on specific use-cases like defi, micropayments, gaming, or non-financial applications.”
Surge is preparing to launch its testnet soon, although no specific timelines have been disclosed.
The push for defi on the Bitcoin network has increased following a research report from Pantera Capital. The report suggested that the Bitcoin-based defi ecosystem could attract hundreds of billions of dollars in liquidity via web3 protocols. This implies that its sector might achieve a market share similar to that of Ethereum.