Thomas Daniels
Bitcoin-focused protocol Surge has raised $1.8 million in pre-seed funding to tackle the Bitcoin network’s persistent scalability challenges.
As the Bitcoin ecosystem continues to grapple with unresolved issues surrounding scalability, innovative startups are searching for solutions to unlock billions in liquidity from decentralized finance (DeFi). Surge, a protocol designed to enhance Bitcoin’s role in decentralized finance (BTCfi), has secured $1.8 million in pre-seed funding. According to a press release shared with crypto.news, the funds will help Surge realize Bitcoin’s “full potential as a global currency and a foundational layer for innovation.”
Backed by firms such as Autonomy, Gerstenbrot Capital, and Double Peak Group, along with angel investors including CoinGecko co-founders Bobby Ong and TM Lee, Surge aims to address the limitations of prior scalability improvements like SegWit and Taproot. The protocol’s unique solution, dubbed the MetaLayer, leverages Bitcoin’s security framework while incorporating advanced cryptographic tools such as zero-knowledge proofs and Inter-Blockchain Communication, all without requiring soft or hard forks to the network.
Surge to Introduce Move-Based Rollups to Bitcoin
In pursuit of its goal, Surge has partnered with Movement Labs to enable liquidity for Move-based decentralized finance applications. This collaboration will allow developers to bridge the Bitcoin and Move ecosystems, fostering interoperability. According to Yash Belavadi, co-founder of Surge, the fresh funding will support the creation of scaling infrastructure, allowing development teams to focus on diverse use cases like DeFi, micropayments, gaming, and even non-financial applications.
While Surge is expected to launch its testnet in the near future, specific timelines remain undisclosed.
The growing interest in bringing DeFi to the Bitcoin network has been highlighted in a recent research report by Pantera Capital. The report predicts that Bitcoin-based DeFi could attract hundreds of billions of dollars in liquidity through web3 protocols, suggesting that this ecosystem could soon capture a market share comparable to Ethereum’s.
