The Top 8 DeFi Apps on Bitcoin L2 Stacks

As Bitcoin enters its fully programmable era, layer 2s are leading the way for countless new use cases for the world’s most secure, decentralized, and adopted cryptocurrency. Builders are writing the next chapter for Bitcoin with Stacks, the leading L2 for Bitcoin.

The Nakamoto Release, bringing Fast Blocks & Bitcoin Finality to Stacks, is currently being rolled out. This article explores eight different decentralized applications built on Stacks.

Please be aware that participating in decentralized finance (DeFi) carries inherent risks. Users should conduct thorough research and exercise caution before engaging in any DeFi activities.

Type: Decentralized Exchange, Launchpad, Farming & Staking.

What You Can Do: Trade assets, lend and borrow, launch products, earn yield.

Overview:

• ALEX (Automated Liquidity Exchange) aims to be the “Super App for Bitcoin” by bridging the capabilities of Bitcoin Layer 1 (L1) and Layer 2 (L2) technologies to create a DeFi platform built for Bitcoin through Stacks smart contracts.
• ALEX boasts a suite of products, including a decentralized exchange (DEX) using automated market makers (AMM), swaps, liquidity pools, staking, yield farming, a launchpad for Bitcoin projects, a Bitcoin Oracle, and more.
• Read the docs

Here's an example of how you can get started:

1). Visit ALEX, launch the app, and connect your wallet

2). Swap your STX into the ALEX token

3). Stake ALEX to receive yield

Type: Liquid Stacking.

What You Can Do: Earn yield stacking STX without losing liquidity.

Overview:

• Stacking DAO is a liquid stacking protocol on Stacks that Enables users to earn native yield through Stacking and enables users to simultaneously allocate their assets to other Bitcoin DeFi protocols (and earn additional yield).
• Liquid stacking solves the critical problem of providing liquidity to Stackers, as Stackers must lock their STX to participate in Stacks Consensus. Through its Liquid Stacking Protocol, Stacking DAO gives users an auto-compounding tokenized representation of stacked STX (stSTX).
• Read the docs

Here's an example of how you can get started:

1). Visit Stacking DAO, launch the app, and connect your wallet

2). Deploy STX into Stacking DAO

3). Receive stSTX

• 4). Receive yield and use stSTX throughout the Stacks DeFi ecosystem

Type: Borrowing and lending, Money Market on Stacks.

What You Can Do: Lend your assets to earn yield or borrow against your assets.

Overview:

• Zest is an on-chain lending protocol built for Bitcoin. It aims to create a vibrant borrowing and lending ecosystem around BTC without a trusted intermediary.
• Zest Protocol features two types of pools:
• Earn pools, where users earn a yield on their BTC
• Borrow pools, where users borrow against their BTC
• Read the docs.

Here's an example of how you can get started:

1). Visit Zest, launch the app, and connect your wallet

2). Add STX to liquidity pools

3). Receive STX

Type: Decentralized Exchange, Farming & Staking.

What You Can Do: Trade stablecoins, swap Bitcoin, earn yield on native BTC.

Overview:

• BitFlow is a decentralized exchange (DEX) that enables Bitcoiners to trade, borrow, and earn with their Bitcoin.
• BitFlow focuses on price-stable assets (like stablecoins and Bitcoin swaps) to bring users deep liquidity pools and low fees. In addition, with its focus on Bitcoin, BitFlow will offer yield on native BTC without introducing custodial risk.
• Read the docs

Here's an example of how you can get started:

1). Visit BitFlow, launch the app, and connect your wallet

2). Deploy the stSTX token into the STX-stSTX reward pool

3). Receive STX

Type: Vaults.

What You Can Do: Vault your stSTX to earn yield.

Overview:

• Hermetica is a DeFi protocol built on Bitcoin.
• Hermetica is the safest way to put your Bitcoin to work. Earn, trade, and accumulate more Bitcoin while never giving up custody of your tokens.
• Hermetica Vaults are automated, self-executing strategy entities whereby the user can deposit assets, and the vault executes strategies to invest.

Here's an example of how you can get started:

1). Visit Hermetica, launch the app, and connect your wallet

2). Deposit stSTX into the Earn Vault

3). Receive yield on your stSTX

Type: Stablecoin, collateralized debt position.

What You Can Do: Get a synthetic dollar called USDA.

Overview:

• Arkadiko is a DeFi platform that allows users to get a stablecoin, USDA, using STX as collateral. This stablecoin can be used in DeFi.
• Arkadiko leverages stacking rewards from the STX tokens to create a self-repaying loan paid by yield earned from stacking STX.

Here's an example of how you can get started:

1). Visit Arkadiko, launch the app, and connect your wallet

2). Swap STX for USDA

3). Swap USDA for USDC on Bitflow

Type: Bridge.

What You Can Do: Bridge your Bitcoin L2 assets to Bitcoin Meta-Protocols and other chains.

Overview:

• Bitcoin Bridge aggregates liquidity across Bitcoin L2s, aiming to bring a "native-like" DeFi experience to Bitcoin.

Here's an example of how you can get started:

1). Visit XLINK, launch the app, and connect your wallet

2). Bridge your USDT from Ethereum to sUSDT on Bitcoin L2 Stacks

Type: Decentralized Exchange.

What You Can Do: Swap assets, earn yield, and trade with leverage.

Overview:

• Velar is a liquidity protocol with a suite of DeFi services built on Stacks. Velar uses automated market makers to bring swaps and yield farming to Bitcoin.
• Coming Soon: Velar is also building a decentralized perpetual exchange, allowing users to trade with up to 20x leverage.

Here's an example of how you can get started:

1). Visit Velar, launch the app, and connect your wallet

2). Add STX to liquidity pools

3). Receive STX