Bitcoin 2024: Elastos Unveils BeL2 SDKs, MicroStrategy Announces Partnership For Corporate $BTC Onboarding

The much-anticipated Bitcoin 2024 conference has wrapped up its first day, and several companies made major announcements, including SmartWeb ecosystem provider Elastos, which unveiled BeL2 SDKs for partners to develop Native Bitcoin apps, making Native $BTC staking a reality through a new revenue model for arbiters.

Elastos announces BeL2 SDKs

Elastos on Thursday unveiled the BeL2 Software Development Kit (SDK) where partners can build Native Bitcoin decentralized apps (dApps) to encourage the staking of an estimated more than 1 trillion dormant Bitcoins.

The decentralized blockchain network has set up a booth at Bitcoin 2024 in Nashville to demonstrate the BeL2 SDK alongside the StarBTC demo loan app, aiming to showcase BeL2's Native Bitcoin DeFi solutions as a decentralized clearing network service.

The Bel2 protocol enables direct collateralization of Bitcoin without bridging or wrapping, preserving the security and integrity of the world's first decentralized cryptocurrency while avoiding network congestion and fees. BeL2 allows users to stake $BTC directly on the Bitcoin network and also enables the transmission of transaction proofs, rather than assets, across chains, so users can safely enter layer 2 environments and utilize $BTC in various DeFi applications.

The StarBTC demo app, on the other hand, shows how arbiter nodes facilitate communication between the Bitcoin and Ethereum Virtum Machine (EVM) chains to verify transaction proofs using BeL2's Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP) process to ensure that all conditions are met for collateral release. The app also shows how staked $BTC can be used as collateral for stablecoin loans, maintaining Bitcoin on its main network and leveraging BeL2's ZKP technology and decentralized arbitration for secure transactions.

"The combination of our innovations around arbiter nodes and the BeL2 SDK will enable developers and node holders to earn significant premiums from staking Bitcoin. We estimate the Native Bitcoin DeFi market could grow by over $1 trillion, with potential in industries from creative arts to retail," Jonathan Hargreaves, Elastos' global head of Business Development & ESG, told International Business Times in a statement.

With BeL2 SDK, the development is simplified, security is enhanced, and developers are given innovation opportunities by abstracting complex blockchain interactions and ZKP operations.

"Our vision is to establish a new global financial system anchored by Bitcoin and enhance its role as a global hard currency. The launch of the BeL2 Protocol, the StarBTC demo app, and the BeL2 SDK is inspiring our partners to explore DeFi opportunities. We are excited to work with Layer 2s like BEVM and B² Network to demonstrate how Native Bitcoin DeFi can open up new economic opportunities," said Sasha Mitchell, head of Bitcoin Layer 2 at Elastos.

MicroStrategy partners with Bitcoin Magazine

Also on Thursday, MicroStrategy executive chairman Michael Saylor announced with Bitcoin Magazine a new partnership with the goal of onboarding more corporations into Bitcoin.

The collaboration establishes an organization that will connect professionals with $BTC, educating them about adoption, especially highlighting the success MicroStrategy has had with its Bitcoin adoption strategy.

"I think 2024 is year one of mainstream institutional adoption of Bitcoin. So, clearly, the momentum has picked up. I get a lot more calls from public company CEOs, I'm invited to talk to boards more often ... we think that now is the right time for this partnership because there's a whole lot of that we've done," Saylor said.

He noted that MicroStrategy has worked on various facets of Bitcoin adoption models over the last four years, including financials, legal nuances, disclosures, how corporations can communicate the adoption strategy to investors, and on execution.

"I think the dream is, find a way to re-capitalize on Bitcoin for the benefit of shareholders, their customers, their employees so they can make better products and services," he said.

Metaplanet partners with Bitcoin Magazine

Japanese public company Metaplanet has also partnered with Bitcoin Magazine to launch Bitcoin Magazine Japan as part of the company's bid "to advance Bitcoin adoption both in Japan and internationally." Notably, Metaplanet has adopted its own $BTC strategy, continuously purchasing Bitcoins in recent months.

Bitcoin documentary goes live

"God Bless Bitcoin," a documentary that looks into the "moral" aspects of the world's largest digital asset by market value, went live Thursday. The documentary film's executive producer, Kelly Estes, spoke at Bitcoin 2024 to hail the community of women in Bitcoin that she said embraced new ideas and welcomed everybody.

Key people

Bitcoin 2024 will run through Saturday at the Music City Center in Nashville, TN, and there are many more activities in store for attendees, including the much-anticipated keynote speech of some of the biggest names in politics and the cryptocurrency industry.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will speak at the event Saturday afternoon, while independent presidential candidate and renowned Bitcoin advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was already spotted Thursday at the conference.

Other notable speakers are Cathie Wood, the founder and CEO of investment management firm ARK Invest, cybersecurity expert and whistleblower Edward Snowden, former GOP presidential aspirant Vivek Ramaswamy, Senators Bill Hagerty and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, and Core Scientific president Adam Sullivan.