Mintlayer, a well-known Layer-2 scaling solution for Bitcoin, has recently announced a strategic partnership with Salus, a research and security company specializing in zero-knowledge (ZK) technology. This collaboration aims to develop the Thunder Network, a groundbreaking Layer-3 ZK rollup-based solution that will be built on Bitcoin and the Mintlayer Protocol.
Mintlayer is already enabling Bitcoin liquidity for decentralized finance (DeFi) through native BTC cross-chain swaps, also known as Atomic Swaps. The introduction of the Thunder Network will take scalability, privacy, and Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) functionality to a whole new level. This Layer-3 solution will not only provide greater scalability and privacy, but it will also offer faster transaction speeds and EVM-compatible features. This means that developers will be able to build on a secure and reliable infrastructure connected to Bitcoin, while EVM dApps will be compatible, making the development process on Bitcoin via the Mintlayer protocol much simpler.
Enrico Rubboli, the Founder of Mintlayer, expressed his excitement about the partnership, stating that it is a significant milestone for Mintlayer’s mission to revolutionize Bitcoin’s scalability and functionality. By integrating ZK through the Thunder Network, transaction speed and privacy will be enhanced, and developers will have access to powerful EVM capabilities to build innovative applications on top of Bitcoin. Rubboli looks forward to working with Salus to unlock Bitcoin’s full potential and drive the future of DeFi.
The decision to collaborate with Salus was driven by their extensive expertise in providing privacy-enhancing EVM ZK application layer solutions. Earlier this year, Salus authored a groundbreaking set of ZK solutions tailored for the Ethereum ecosystem, which gained significant attention in the blockchain community. Salus has also established itself as a leader in addressing security challenges in the blockchain space.
The Thunder Network is designed to address potential scaling issues on the Mintlayer network while introducing additional EVM functionality that is currently absent. Shawn Chong, the COO of Salus, expressed his excitement about this partnership and the opportunity to redefine how developers and users interact with Bitcoin. He believes that the synergy between Salus’ privacy-enhancing ZK solutions and Mintlayer’s expertise in Bitcoin layer 2 scaling will drive innovation and adoption in the Bitcoin space, while maintaining security, privacy, and decentralization.
The partnership between Mintlayer and Salus marks a significant step forward in the evolution of Bitcoin and its integration with the broader blockchain ecosystem. By leveraging Layer-3 ZK rollups, the Thunder Network aims to provide users with a seamless and high-performance experience, all while preserving the security, privacy, and decentralization that Bitcoin is known for.
Mintlayer stands out by employing Bitcoin’s Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO) model and integrating Non-Turing Complete Smart Contracts to minimize bugs and exploitable vulnerabilities. The team behind Mintlayer consists of industry-leading engineers, cryptographers, and blockchain researchers. As a Bitcoin Layer-2 sidechain, Mintlayer enables native Bitcoin cross-chain swaps, facilitating truly trustless finance.
In the coming year, Mintlayer plans to unlock the use of native Bitcoin in DeFi applications through Atomic Swaps. Some of the financial use cases that will be supported by Mintlayer include peer-to-peer trading using Atomic Swaps, real-world asset tokenization, security tokens, and digital collectibles. The collaboration between Mintlayer and Salus promises to open up new possibilities for Bitcoin, driving the future of decentralized finance and blockchain technology.