At Money 20/20 in Amsterdam, Ricardo Castro of Rootstock Labs revealed plans for expanding the Bitcoin layer-2 protocol across Latin America. The focus is on providing global access to decentralized finance (DeFi), especially in emerging markets.
Rootstock has successfully bridged Bitcoin’s security with Ethereum’s smart contract utility, creating a BTC-backed smart contract platform. With over 2,000 BTC, valued at over $141 million, the protocol supports DeFi development and liquidity for decentralized applications (dapps).
DefiLlama reports more than $203 million in total value locked on Rootstock, including over $15 million in stablecoins. The chain’s native token, RBTC, is pegged one-to-one with Bitcoin for transaction validation. Rootstock also offers a multi-million pool prize for developers and has issued over 100 grants in the past year.
By enhancing Bitcoin’s smart contract capabilities, Rootstock aims to bridge the gap between BTC and Ethereum, driving innovation and DeFi adoption in Latin America.
