The future of finance is built on Bitcoin — Ethereum was just the testnet

Opinion by: Alisia Painter, main operating serviceman of Botanix Labs

Without Ethereum, the manufacture wouldn’t beryllium wherever it is contiguous successful presumption of bringing decentralized concern (DeFi) to life, making programmability a cardinal diagnostic of blockchains and proving the worth of astute contracts astatine scale. The Ethereum Virtual Machine has go the go-to level for developers, with the largest ecosystem and tooling.

As DeFi matures, however, it’s worthy asking: Is Ethereum the champion instauration for the aboriginal of fiscal innovation? Well, the reply mightiness conscionable beryllium Bitcoin.

With astir $6 cardinal successful full worth locked arsenic of March 2025, Bitcoin’s decentralization, liquidity and resilience presumption it arsenic the earthy location for the adjacent epoch of onchain finance, and portion Ethereum’s flexibility has enabled an detonation of experimentation, that aforesaid flexibility has travel with trade-offs.

From vulnerabilities successful astute contracts we’ve seen successful big-name hacks to ongoing debates astir scalability, Ethereum’s experimental ethos has near cracks successful its foundation. By contrast, Bitcoin offers a solid, battle-tested infrastructure wherever DeFi tin flourish sustainably and transverse the chasm from degens into mainstream adoption.

Ethereum’s publication and limitations

Ethereum was liable for pioneering what we cognize to beryllium DeFi today. This innovation and improvement served arsenic a investigating crushed for what Bitcoin is susceptible of and tin yet achieve. Its programmability has empowered developers to make everything from automated lending platforms to blase derivatives. These products beryllium solely due to the fact that of Ethereum’s astute declaration capabilities.

With that flexibility came superior trade-offs, and we’ve seen them play retired successful real-time. The DAO hack successful 2016 drained $50 cardinal and astir killed Ethereum successful its infancy. The 2022 Wormhole exploit outgo $325 cardinal successful caller years, and the Ronin Bridge hack took $620 million.

These weren’t conscionable atrocious luck — they’re the predictable effect of Ethereum’s open-ended programmability. Smart contracts are powerful, but they’re besides complex. Complexity breeds vulnerability. Solidity simply wasn’t designed with information arsenic the superior consideration.

Recent: Ethereum researcher pitches solution to hole centralization woes, destruct MEV

At the aforesaid time, Ethereum’s scaling challenges person made it progressively inaccessible. 

Network congestion and state fees soaring to hundreds of dollars during highest periods person efficaciously locked retired mean users. Seasoned users volition beryllium precise good accustomed to the eye-watering state fees required conscionable to marque basal swaps during times of precocious web congestion. Layer-2 solutions similar Optimism and Arbitrum person made large progress, but they fragment liquidity and present their ain spot assumptions.

This isn’t to accidental Ethereum is failing. It’s not. As DeFi matures beyond its experimental signifier and becomes much mainstream successful planetary finance, we request to inquire whether it makes consciousness to support gathering connected this instauration oregon to see a much resilient alternative.

Why Bitcoin?

Bitcoin’s plan doctrine is radically different. It isn’t a level for unlimited experimentation; it’s a fortress of stability. Its blimpish improvement ethos and proof-of-work statement marque Bitcoin the astir unafraid blockchain successful existence. This information translates into spot — a captious constituent for DeFi applications handling billions of dollars successful value.

Liquidity is different vantage Bitcoin offers. With a marketplace capitalization that dwarfs Ether’s (ETH), Bitcoin (BTC) is the astir liquid cryptocurrency, making it an perfect basal furniture for DeFi. The emergence of technologies similar Bitcoin’s Lightning Network and sidechains similar Spiderchain are already unlocking Bitcoin’s imaginable for astute contracts, offering the programmability developers request without sacrificing information oregon scalability.

Not each Bitcoin projects are created equal 

Many alleged Bitcoin L2s and sidechains assertion to beryllium “Bitcoin native,” offering applications the committedness of leveraging Bitcoin’s intrinsic information properties.

Let’s acceptable the grounds straight: Many aren’t genuinely Bitcoin-native.

Without pointing fingers, these projects often trust connected custodial multisig setups, span Bitcoin to Ethereum oregon different chain, and past physique rollups connected top. While there’s thing inherently incorrect with this approach, and determination volition beryllium usage cases that enactment with this acceptable of spot assumptions, it’s not the aforesaid arsenic being natively built connected Bitcoin.

True Bitcoin L2s are designed straight connected Bitcoin, tapping into its liquidity, information and resilience — qualities that person withstood the trial of time. If we privation to grow DeFi capabilities, we indispensable physique them connected Bitcoin. It’s a straightforward ask, but 1 worthy reiterating arsenic we spot large players exploring paths that whitethorn not afloat align with Bitcoin’s potential.

The way forward

The statement shouldn’t beryllium framed arsenic Ethereum versus Bitcoin. That’s a mendacious binary. Ethereum’s innovation-first attack has been important successful proving what’s possible, and it remains an indispensable hub of DeFi experimentation. Bitcoin offers thing Ethereum doesn’t: a instauration that has already earned the spot of the broader fiscal world.

Users shouldn’t person to take betwixt information and functionality. Bitcoin’s resilience is combined with blase fiscal tools akin to those pioneered by Ethereum. Some of the astir breathtaking enactment happening present is astatine this intersection.

For DeFi to fulfill its committedness of creating a fair, unfastened and inclusive fiscal system, it indispensable determination beyond its experimental phase. It indispensable beryllium unafraid capable that mean radical tin usage it without fearfulness of losing everything to an exploit. It needs liquidity heavy capable to enactment real-world fiscal activity. And it requires the benignant of organization spot that lone Bitcoin has achieved.

The aboriginal of concern volition beryllium built connected Bitcoin not due to the fact that Ethereum failed but due to the fact that Bitcoin provides the instauration that concern demands.

Opinion by: Alisia Painter, main operating serviceman of Botanix Labs

This nonfiction is for wide accusation purposes and is not intended to beryllium and should not beryllium taken arsenic ineligible oregon concern advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed present are the author’s unsocial and bash not needfully bespeak oregon correspond the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.