Original author: Weilin, PANews
The ecology of Bitcoin Layer 2 continues to be hot. The Merlin Chain of Layer 2 ecology integrates key modules such as ZK-Rollup network, decentralized oracle network and fraud proof on the Bitcoin chain. It is based on the native assets of Bitcoin Layer 1, protocols and products, aiming to continue innovating, unlocking its potential and “making Bitcoin fun again.”
Merlin Chain currently supports Bitcoin protocols including BRC 20, BRC 420, Bitmap, Ordinals, and will soon support Atomics, Stamps, Runes, etc.
As of March 12, the total value locked (TVL) on Merlin Chain has exceeded $3.8 billion. In just 33 days since the mainnet went live, TVL has climbed rapidly, demonstrating its ability to attract large amounts of capital. Among them, 88% of TVL is composed of Bitcoin ecological assets, BTC accounts for US$2.17 billion, and BRC-20 assets contribute US$450 million to TVL.
According to official statements, there are currently hundreds of dApps in preparation or online. Merlin Chain also recently announced its cooperation with 5 dApp project parties in an AMA. This article will briefly introduce the basic situation of these first-launch projects.
1.Influpia
Project gameplay: The SocialFi project based on ERC 404 can convert personal social influence into visible value. Users can create their own influence through boost and empower actions. In the second phase of the project, the project team plans to launch the Influpad platform to provide exclusive exposure and display, introduce brands, and establish a long-term cooperation mechanism.
Through the game mechanism, users can obtain tokens and enjoy rich reward mechanisms. In addition, there is an ERC 404 empowerment gameplay. Every ten thousand Tokens will be converted into an NFT, and the NFT can additionally enhance a random power attribute. PVP gameplay will also be launched in the future.
Latest developments and cooperation plans with Merlin: Influpia’s airdrop points have been launched on the Merlin Chain at 5 pm (UTC+ 8) on March 11, and more activities will be launched subsequently. The native token is $ING, and 7% of the total production will be used for airdrops. ING adopts a fair launch, without pre-mining, investors or team reserves, and only mints through active community participation.
2.Dragonverse Neo
Project gameplay: The first game to be launched on MerlinChain, aiming to create a 3D open world and metaverse, integrating various gameplay methods such as Pokémon, fighting, parkour, chicken fighting, and auto-chess. In addition, a game engine editor is introduced to help creative players create their own content.
Latest news and plans for cooperation with Merlin: A lightpaper will be released soon, which will explain the use of assets in detail. In addition, the project team is expected to develop a Layer 3 specifically for games based on Merilin Chain to cope with the three shortcomings of the Bitcoin game track: insufficient infrastructure performance, relatively basic game projects, and a small player base. This chain will provide exclusive computing and storage resources, allowing large-scale games and multiplayer games, such as Final Fantasy 14, LOL, and Chicken Fight, to run smoothly in the Bitcoin ecosystem.
3.Surf Protocol
Project gameplay: A permissionless AMM derivatives trading protocol, focusing on BTC layer 2, providing leverage and perpetual contract services.
Overall, there are two ways for users to participate. The first is trading, where users place orders and trade on the platform based on their own judgment. The second is financial management. Users can be the market maker of the platform, be the counterparty of all traders, and receive the traders fees. The coins listed in the early stage of the project include BTC, Ordinals, Sats, and Ethereum. Surf Protocol allows single-coin staking to reduce liquidity dispersion issues.
Latest news and cooperation plan with Merlin: The first version of Merlin deployment is expected to be launched on March 11. The incentive plan will be launched in April. Users can experience it as an early bird and make suggestions.
4.BendDAO
Project gameplay: It is an NFT mortgage lending protocol based on the Ethereum layer. It is an NFT mortgage lending protocol using a peer-to-peer pool model. It supports users to mortgage their own blue-chip NFTs to obtain loans to liberate the liquidity of NFTs. At the same time, BendDAO focuses on lending and has also launched two additional functions: selling collateral and purchasing NFT with down payment.
Latest developments and cooperation plans with Merlin: In the future, lending protocols will be launched on Merlin, such as the blue box of BRC-420 protocol assets. Users can pledge and then get BTC or stablecoins. The BendDAO protocol hopes to serve as the leader of the BTC asset pledge track and will gradually support all assets in the entire BTC ecosystem, as long as they can be mapped to the second layer.
5.bitSmiley
Project gameplay: A stablecoin project based on the Bitcoin ecosystem, supporting BTCs native assets, which can be used in transactions and adopt an over-collateralization mechanism with leverage attributes.
bitSmileys stablecoin has two functions. First, it fills the vacancy of Circle (USDC issuer) on the second layer of BTC and is used as circulating cash for trading cryptocurrency. Second, due to the over-collateralization mechanism, it has the attribute of leverage, that is, users can mortgage BTC to mint stable coins, and then use these stable coins to participate in transactions to obtain profits. Subsequently, the user returns the stablecoin and retrieves the collateral, improving the users capital efficiency.
Latest news and plans for collaboration with Merlin:
bitSmileys native asset bitDisc-Black NFT has officially joined Merlins staking mining activity Merlin Seal, becoming one of the BTC assets recognized by Merlins mainnet activities. BitDisc-Black NFT holders can stake their NFTs on the Merlin Chain and participate in receiving Merlin mainnet MPoints rewards. The pledged assets will be mapped to M-bitDisc-Black. The bitSmiley team stated that users who hold M-bitDisc-Black assets have the same rights as bitDisc-Black holders and can also participate in other bitSmiley activities in the future.
In addition to the above five projects, the official has also recently announced a series of new dApps, including DEX project iZUMi Finance, cross-chain bridge Meson Finance, Polyhedra Network, and Bitcoin native asset applications Bitmap Game and Bitmap War, as well as BRC -420 Native DeFi application Mineral, etc.
