Babylon Labs Collaborates with Fiamma to Build Trust-Minimized Bitcoin Bridges

TORTOLA, British Virgin Islands, Jan. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Fiamma, a pioneer in BitVM2 technology, has secured strategic investment from Babylon Labs to advance the shared vision of a Bitcoin-secured decentralized world. The initiative focuses on developing the software solution for the first Trust-Minimized Bitcoin Bridges to cosmos chains in the ecosystem. These bridges achieve unparalleled security by pioneering the integration of zero-knowledge technology into Bitcoin through the innovative BitVM2 paradigm. This effort aims to unlock the untapped potential of 21M BTC, enabling Bitcoin to transcend its traditional limitations and interact seamlessly with other ecosystems.

This integration is more than just a bridge—it's a step toward redefining Bitcoin's utility and efficiency within the digital economy. By enabling innovative solutions built on Bitcoin's inherent strengths, the collaboration sets the stage for breakthroughs that will reshape how Bitcoin is utilized across programmable blockchains and beyond.

Fiamma: BitVM2 Pioneer

In November 2024, Fiamma launched the alpha testnet for Fiamma Bridge, the first BitVM2-powered trust-minimized Bitcoin bridge, along with the devnet for Bitcoin's first ZK verification layer utilizing BitVM2. These groundbreaking innovations mark the first implementations of BitVM2, a technology that not only scales Bitcoin but also enables seamless, pragmatically trustless interactions with other programmable blockchains.

Fiamma has pioneered the development and implementation of the most efficient and compact verifiers in Bitcoin Script, including Fflonk and Groth16, setting a new standard for optimized ZK verification. This achievement lays the foundation for future advancements in ZK technology, with a commitment to further innovation and refinement.

Babylon Protocol: The Leading Trustless Bitcoin Staking Solution

Babylon Labs, which develops software solutions enabling new native use cases for Bitcoin, including Bitcoin's largest staking protocol with over 57,000 BTC staked through it (equivalent to $6 billion in TVL), is helping transform the perception about Bitcoin's utility through this novel trustless staking technology that allows Bitcoin holders to mobilize their BTC to secure other proof-of-stake systems while receiving additional programmatic rewards.

Key Milestones in the Integration

After months of technical discussions and collaboration, the two teams have outlined two key milestones for their integration:

1. Trust-Minimized Bridge: A transformative solution that activates BTC's asset potential, providing holders with more options and trustless participation in DeFi, PayFi, and other use cases on any chain without security concerns.
2. Future Innovations Beyond the Bridge: Building on the foundation of the Trust-Minimized Bridge, the integration is designed to pave the way for advanced solutions that enhance Bitcoin's utility and capital efficiency, unlocking its role in the broader financial and decentralized landscape.

The integration will initially focus on developing the Trust-Minimized Bridge, combining the strengths of both parties to create high-impact, high-quality solutions that set a new standard for Bitcoin-based interoperability.

Trust-Minimized BTC Bridge

Based on the BitVM2 paper, the definition of "Trust-Minimized" is the existence of one active rational operator and rational challengers.

This means that:

1. As long as there is 1 honest challenger, the safety of the Bridge is established;
2. As long as there is 1 honest operator, the liveness of the Bridge is established.

Based on this trust assumption, Fiamma and Babylon Labs are working together to research and develop software for a Trust-minimized bridge by ensuring users retain custody of their assets, with the following parameters:

1. Peg-In (Deposit) Safety:  If the B-BTC is minted on Babylon chain, then the same amount of BTC has been locked on the Bitcoin network
2. Peg-In Liveness: If the user has locked some amount of BTC on the Bitcoin network following the bridge protocol, then the user can self-mint the same amount of B-BTC on Babylon chain within a finite known time bound.
3. Peg-Out (Withdraw) Safety: If the BTC is unlocked on Bitcoin, then the same amount of B-BTC has been burnt on the Babylon chain
4. Peg-Out Liveness: If the user has burnt some amount of B-BTC on Babylon chain following the bridge protocol, then the user can unlock the same amount of BTC on the Bitcoin network within a finite known time bound.

The system leverages the following key components to ensure the above security properties.

• ●     Sidechain Modules:
  • On-Chain Bitcoin Light Client
  • Bridge Contract
  • Wrapped BTC Contract
• ●     Bitcoin Modules:
  • ZK Light Client Networks (Bitcoin & Sidechain)
  • BitVM2-based Snark Verification on Bitcoin
  • BitVM2 Transaction Graph
• ●     Off-Chain Module:
  • Event Monitor
  • Relayer Network
  • Multi-Operators
  • Fungible Liquidity Provider
  • Permissionless Challenge
  • Proof Generation
  • Proof Aggregation

For detailed information on the bridge's architecture and security, check out our docs and stay tuned for our upcoming blog series.

About Fiamma

Fiamma is unlocking real-world use cases for Bitcoin, transforming it into a dynamic asset and the foundation for a decentralized internet and financial system. Backed by Lightspeed Faction and L2IV, Fiamma leads innovation with the Fiamma Bridge and Fiamma Layer, the first products to implement BitVM2. These foundational technologies are just the beginning, as Fiamma continues to develop protocols that expand Bitcoin's potential across programmable blockchains and real-world applications. With a growing network of strategic partners, including Babylon, BOB, Satlayer, and RiscZero, Fiamma is shaping the future of decentralized systems.

Website | Twitter | Discord | Telegram

About Babylon Labs

Babylon Labs focuses on Bitcoin security-sharing protocols with a vision of building a Bitcoin-secured decentralized world. The latest software development is the world's first trustless and self-custodial Bitcoin staking protocol, which enables Bitcoin holders to stake their BTC on other decentralized systems such as PoS chains, L2s, Data Availability (DA) layers, etc, enabling stakers to receive staking rewards without the need for third-party custody, bridge solutions, or wrapping services. The greater idea is to combine the high security and wide adoption of Bitcoin with the efficiency and scalability of PoS systems, increasing Bitcoin's utility.

For more information about Babylon Labs, a developer of the Babylon Bitcoin staking protocol, please visit:

Website | Twitter | Discord | Linkedin

SOURCE Babylon