SushiSwap, a prominent decentralized exchange, has officially launched on Bitcoin‘s sidechain, Rootstock, according to an announcement shared with CoinDesk on Thursday.
Rootstock, established in 2018, is one of the pioneering projects aimed at bringing decentralized finance (DeFi) functionalities to the Bitcoin network, which are typically associated with Ethereum and the BNB Chain. Rootstock distinguishes itself as the first Bitcoin sidechain compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), a smart contract-executing software that powers the Ethereum protocol, analogous to an operating system on a computer.
The core objective of Rootstock is to merge Bitcoin’s robust security with Ethereum’s smart contract capabilities, thereby providing a versatile platform for building and deploying decentralized applications (dApps). The ecosystem operates using the RBTC token, which maintains a 1:1 peg with BTC.
SushiSwap’s integration on Rootstock follows the deployment of Uniswap on the Bitcoin sidechain about six months ago. Notably, SushiSwap originated as a fork of Uniswap, reflecting its shared foundational elements.
According to DeFi Llama, Rootstock’s bridged total value locked (TVL) currently exceeds $450 million. This integration highlights a broader trend of expanding DeFi features to the Bitcoin network, historically dominated by Ethereum and other blockchain platforms.
Since the beginning of 2023, there has been significant momentum in enhancing Bitcoin’s capabilities, initiated by the Ordinals protocol, which enabled the minting and storage of a version of NFTs on Bitcoin. This innovation has sparked various initiatives to introduce smart contracts to Bitcoin, the world’s largest blockchain.
With SushiSwap now live on Rootstock, the Bitcoin network continues to evolve, embracing more complex and diverse DeFi functionalities previously exclusive to other blockchains.
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