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Speaking at Money 20/20 in Amsterdam, Ricardo Castro of Rootstock Labs highlighted the focus of the Bitcoin layer-2 protocol on providing global acess to decentralized finance (DeFi), particularly in emerging markets.&nbsp; 
Bitcoin (<a href="https://crypto.news/price/bitcoin/" target="_blank" rel="">BTC</a>) and Ethereum (<a href="https://crypto.news/price/ethereum/" target="_blank" rel="">ETH</a>) are by far the two largest decentralized networks, each with unique strengths. BTC is rewnowned for its robust security standards, while Ethereum’s blockchain emphasizes functionality and utility through smart contracts.&nbsp; 
For years, developers have tried to bridge the two concepts and create a network that can bootstrap decentralized finance solutions atop BTC’s blockchain. Rootstock Labs says it has achieved this, giving Latin American users and crypto participants at large a secure BTC-backed smart contract platform. 
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According to Castro, the protocol boasts over 2,000 BTC, valued at over $141 million, backing DeFi development and liquidity for decentralized applications (dapps) on the layer-2 side chain. The chain uses a native token called RBTC, pegged one-to-one with Bitcoin for transaction validation. 
DefiLlama data also confirmed more than $203 million in total value locked on Rootstock, including over $15 million in stablecoins.&nbsp;Castro told attendees that the company will continue to support innovation around <a href="https://crypto.news/?s=Bitcoin" rel="">Bitcoin</a> smart contact capabilities to bridge the gap between BTC and Ethereum’s offerings.&nbsp; 
The startup has a multi-million pool prize for developers and already issued over 100 grants in the past 12 months, per the exec.&nbsp; 
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 Rootstock BTC L2 TVL | Source: <a href="https://defillama.com/chain/Rootstock?stables=true&amp;tvl=false" target="_blank" rel="">DefiLlama</a>
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 Read more: <a href="https://crypto.news/hitting-the-icebergs-tip-the-untapped-potential-of-bitcoin-defi-opinion/" rel=""> Hitting the iceberg’s tip: the untapped potential of Bitcoin defi | Opinion </a>

Money20/20: Rootstock Bitcoin L2 eyes further Latin American expansion

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