Ethereum and Solana’s hold on DeFi is about to end, at least according to Cardano’s Charles Hoskinson. In a Twitter/X post on October 25, the Cardano co-founder claimed that decentralized finance is coming to Bitcoin, and that it will be bigger than Ethereum and Solana.
Hoskinson’s bold statement comes days later Cardano and Bitcoin agreed to use smart contract features in the Bitcoin ecosystem. Hoskinson said the new partnership will pave the way for DeFi projects on the Bitcoin ecosystem and developments at Solana and Ethereum.
DeFi goes to Bitcoin
In a tweet, Hoskinson stated that he was ready to help promote the country’s integration DeFi projects in the Bitcoin ecosystem. He added that training sessions for BTC developers are in the pipeline, focusing on Aiken, a programming toolkit and language for designing and deploying smart contracts on Cardano.
Now that Bitcoin is back in the family and innovating again, thanks @BTC_OSI will relaunch the Bitcoin Education Project in 2025 and produce a new edition of my course. We are also going to prepare Aiken education for Bitcoin developers, including hosting on…
— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) October 25, 2024
Hoskinson says the training will help developers create and deploy smart contracts compatible with the Bitcoin and Cardano ecosystems. The transaction costs are in BTC. Specifically, Bitcoin will be created through Babel fees, a “universal currency converter” that allows users to pay fees for coins other than ADA. Hoskinson also shared that he will continue to teach Bitcoin and plans to reactivate the Bitcoin Education Project.
Hoskinson’s abrupt turnaround
Hoskinson’s latest posts about Bitcoin came as a bit of a surprise to many crypto enthusiasts and observers. The Cardano co-founder wasn’t exactly the biggest supporter of Bitcoin after joking about the blockchain a few months ago. In a video message shared last May, he said the industry no longer needs Bitcoin. He further added that Bitcoin cannot survive without the crypto sector.
— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) October 25, 2024
Hoskinson was also combative a few days ago, saying that Cardano would soon overtake Bitcoin. Ethereum was also not spared and said it would suffer the same fate. However, the recent partnership between Cardano’s EMURGO and Bitcoin has changed everything, and now Hoskinson is singing Bitcoin’s praises.
Vladimir Kazakov | Getty Images
Bitcoin just needs to be adopted
While many observers saw Hoskinson’s initial view of Bitcoin as combative, others saw a different picture. To some, Hoskinson was simply referring to the need for the Bitcoin ecosystem to adapt to changes or it would lose its advantage as the premier blockchain project.
Now that the Bitcoin platform is open to DeFi, Hoskinson is understandably excited and ready to help. This latest collaboration between BitcoinOS and EMURGO will bridge the gap between the two ecosystems, which could provide a huge liquidity boost for Cardano. Additionally, this latest agreement makes Cardano the first Layer 1 blockchain to leverage the interoperability features of BitcoinOS.
Featured image from usauthor.com, chart from TradingView