Blockchain network Elastos is launching BeL2, a Bitcoin layer-2 network that could attract billions of dollars in BTC volumes from staking tools. BeL2 will enable more advanced bitcoin transactions, such as smart contracts and irreversible digital agreements, without the need for an intermediary. Users can also stake their bitcoin holdings directly on the platform, earning yields while interacting with BeL2-built applications. The introduction of BeL2 highlights the potential for Bitcoin holders to earn interest on their assets and join the growing trend of Bitcoin layer-2 projects.

Bitcoin second-layer network BSquared Network announced its first ecological partner, Meson. Currently, Meson has deployed the stablecoin USDC on the B² Network Alpha test network. Meson is a cross-chain protocol that focuses on fast, stable, secure, and low transaction fees, supporting mainstream digital assets such as ETH, BNB, USDC, USDT, etc. to freely circulate between B² Network and more than 30 mainstream public chains.

Figment, a provider of staking infrastructure, will support Stacks to achieve Bitcoin L2 rewards. With the upcoming releases of Nakamoto and sBTC, Stacks will support faster and cheaper BTC transactions while providing 100% Bitcoin finality security.

Bitcoin developer Rijndael (@rot13maxi) announced that he will join the Bitcoin Ordinals project Taproot Wizards as CTO. Rijndael has focused on distributed systems, infrastructure, and applied cryptography for the past 15 years and has served as the technical lead for Amazon's NFT project. In recent years, he has turned to the Bitcoin field and focused on developing self-custody tools for Bitkey (a new Bitcoin wallet launched by Block).

Lightning Labs has released "Taproot Assets" on the Bitcoin blockchain, allowing for the issuance of stablecoins and other financial assets built atop Bitcoin via the Lightning Network. The new set of developer tools will enable Bitcoin to become a multi-asset network, taking the protocol to the next financial level. Lightning Labs Director of Business Development Ryan Gentry believes that Taproot Assets will provide a "decentralizing force" to the Lightning Network, shifting more of the world's transactional volume to the Lightning Network and "Bitcoinizing the dollar and the world's financial assets." The release of Taproot Assets has been cheered on by prominent members of the crypto community.

Bitcoin Layer2 network Stacks announced that the sBTC developer version is now online, allowing developers to build and test early versions of sBTC, which is a 1:1 supported BTC version on the Stacks layer. The sBTC developer version will include a localized devnet version of the sBTC system, which developers can install and run locally on their computers to provide a simple interface for testing sBTC deposit and withdrawal transactions. In addition, a JavaScript library that can be obtained through NPM will also be released, which developers can use in their applications. This tool will allow developers to test critical sBTC functions and may gain an advantage in building sBTC-supported applications.