Rootstock has been busy. If you looked away for a second, Rootstock leveled up. In just six months: – Protocol upgrade – Gas fee reduction – Omnichain rBTC – BTC-native staking Now comes trust-minimized bridging, DeFi lending, and composable BTCFi vaults. Let’s walk through the roadmap.

Gas fees dropped 60%. Bitcoin-level security without the price tag.

Rootstock went multichain. With @LayerZero_Core and @StargateFinance, Rootstock assets like rBTC can now move across 100+ chains, expanding composability and enabling multi-chain liquidity access for users and developers.

Rootstock’s institutional partner ecosystem is live, offering native DeFi strategies built around rBTC. Institutions can now earn protocol-based yield with no lockups, full self-custody, and the security of Bitcoin’s PoW.

.@USDT0_to, built on @LayerZero_Core's omnichain standard, has launched on Rootstock, bringing unified, composable USDT liquidity to the Bitcoin DeFi ecosystem. This gives users access to the world’s most trusted stablecoin on Bitcoin’s DeFi layer.

A new rBTC bridge aggregator will go live, unifying trusted swap and bridge routes into a seamless experience. This will simplify onboarding and asset transfers for both builders and users entering the Rootstock ecosystem.

The Reed network upgrade will activate Segwit-compatible pegouts and lay the foundation for increasing the number of PowPeg signers. This will reduce pegout costs by ~60% and further decentralize Rootstock’s Bitcoin-native bridge.

Q3: → Union, a trust-minimized BTC-to-Rootstock bridge powered by @bitvmx, will launch on testnet. It introduces a 1-of-n honest assumption, pushing Rootstock closer to a fully verifiable, non-custodial bridging model. → Faster Transactions Parallel transaction execution and shorter block times will begin testing, improving scalability, reducing latency, and boosting performance across Rootstock DeFi applications. → BTCFi Lending Protocol Launch A major DeFi lending protocol will launch on Rootstock, enabling Bitcoin-backed loans, collateralized borrowing, and increased capital efficiency. A key milestone in building a complete BTCFi stack.

Q4: → Vetiver Network Upgrade. Vetiver will activate the consensus changes required for Union Bridge’s mainnet deployment. It will also include new precompiles and faster block times, setting the stage for Rootstock’s most secure bridge launch yet. → Union will go live on mainnet. A trust-minimized bridge powered by BitVMX, Union allows BTC to move into Rootstock’s DeFi ecosystem without custodians — aligning with Bitcoin’s core values of transparency and decentralization. → Vaulted rBTC will introduce Rootstock-native, composable yield vaults designed for institutions and long-term holders. These vaults offer diversified strategies across BTC, USDT, and RIF, turning idle BTC into productive capital.

The first half of 2025 laid the groundwork. Now we scale. Faster transactions. Secure bridging. Real yield. Every upgrade moves Rootstock closer to unlocking the full potential of Bitcoin.