Franklin Templeton-backed Bitlayer, a Bitcoin decentralized finance project, has launched its Bitcoin smart contract bridge on mainnet, adding more multichain use cases to the world's leading crypto.

A Bitcoin Improvement Proposal aims to phase out vulnerable legacy signatures and introduce quantum-resistant alternatives to protect Bitcoin from emerging quantum computing risks.

Central to the bridge is the YBTC token, pegged 1:1 with BTC, which enables BTC holders to engage in DeFi activities.

The product allows crypto holders to finance property deposits using Bitcoin as collateral, all without having to sell their ...