Zeus Network, the Solana-to-Bitcoin cross-chain bridge, has announced the upcoming launch of its Zeus Program Library (ZPL) in Q3 2024. This library will connect the Solana and Bitcoin ecosystems, unlocking a range of opportunities on Solana that were previously challenging on the Bitcoin blockchain. ZPL consists of Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) programs that allow developers to integrate native Solana support into decentralized applications and facilitate transactions across multiple blockchains. These ZPL-Assets can represent both fungible (cryptocurrencies) and non-fungible (NFTs) digital assets.
Through ZPL and the bridging protocol Apollo, users can deposit their Bitcoin and receive ZPL-wrapped zBTC tokens in return. These tokens can then be used to participate in various activities within the Solana ecosystem, including decentralized exchanges, NFT marketplaces, borrowing, lending, gaming, and SocialFi.
Zeus Network plans to expand the range of ZPL-supported assets on Solana to include Bitcoin Runes and Ordinals, known as “zRuneX” and “zOrdX” respectively. Additionally, they aim to enable Bitcoin staking on the Apollo mainnet in the third quarter. The project is backed by Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko and Stacks co-founder Muneeb Ali, and recently secured $8 million in funding at a valuation of $100 million.
Bitcoin Runes, a token standard released in April, allows users to tokenize real-world assets such as real estate, stocks, commodities, and stablecoins on the Bitcoin blockchain. Bitcoin Ordinals, on the other hand, is a numbering system that assigns a unique number to each satoshi, enabling the tracking, transfer, and minting of unique assets on the Bitcoin blockchain.
The Bitcoin decentralized application ecosystem has seen a resurgence with the introduction of innovative protocols. Orders Exchange recently integrated with the Bitcoin Runes protocol, enabling the issuance of fungible tokens on the native network and establishing a Bitcoin asset bridge with MicroVisionChain for BRC-20 token swaps.
Related: Despite a drop in Bitcoin price, memecoins like BONK, POPCAT, and Solana continue to perform well.