BTCFi: The Next Big Thing or Just a Crypto Comedy Show?

by

Finance

What’s the Schtick?

  • The Bitcoin layer-2 gang (yes, they’re like the Three Stooges of crypto) gathered on Thursday to declare that Bitcoin isn’t just “digital gold” anymore-it’s about to get a job! Finally, something productive in crypto besides memes.
  • At Consensus Hong Kong 2026 (the crypto equivalent of a circus), the ringmasters from Citrea, Rootstock Labs, and BlockSpaceForce claimed Bitcoin’s scaling layers aren’t just about speed-they’re about turning Bitcoin into a financial Swiss Army knife. Because who doesn’t love a multi-tool?

Hong Kong – The Bitcoin layer-2 builders took the stage on Thursday to announce that the next crypto revolution isn’t about dethroning Bitcoin as “digital gold”-it’s about giving it a day job. Because apparently, sitting around being valuable isn’t enough anymore.

At Consensus Hong Kong 2026, the crypto clowns-er, leaders-from Citrea, Rootstock Labs, and BlockSpaceForce argued that Bitcoin’s scaling layers are less about raw power and more about turning it into a financial wizard. Abracadabra, Bitcoin’s now programmable!

“The mission? Making Bitcoin work for a living,” said Gabe Parker, the business development wizard at Citrea, a zk-rollup built on Bitcoin. He pointed out that Bitcoin’s base layer was never meant for fancy smart contracts. “We’re adding DeFi, lending, borrowing-basically, giving Bitcoin a LinkedIn profile. It’s more about programmability than scaling.”

Diego Gutierrez Zaldivar, CEO of Rootstock Labs, waved his hands and declared, “Layer two isn’t just a number-it’s an economic coordination layer! Layer three is for payments! Let’s stop counting and start coordinating!” Because who needs layers when you can have a whole lasagna of financial jargon?

The panelists gushed about institutional demand for bitcoin-backed lending and yield strategies. “Bitcoin’s not just a pretty face-it’s a macro financial asset everyone wants,” said Charles Chong of BlockSpaceForce. “The next big thing? Building a financial system around it. Because why stop at the moon when you can aim for the stars?”

But trust issues are still the elephant in the room. Parker slammed wrapped bitcoin products on Ethereum, saying, “It’s secured by a three-to-five multisig-basically, a crypto group chat. That’s not scalable! If you want to manage trillions, you need protocols, not prayers.”

Institutions, however, are playing it safe. “They’d rather work with regulated counterparts and have legal recourse,” Chong explained. “Or they can go full BTCFi and trust the protocol, but that’s like betting on a coin flip. Spoiler: They’re picking door number one.”

Gutierrez Zaldivar suggested hybrid compliance models as a temporary band-aid but insisted the long-term vision is bigger. “Bitcoin can’t just be a store of value-it needs to be the star of the show!”

For Bitcoin’s scaling cheerleaders, the hope is that even a tiny bit of bitcoin flowing into decentralized finance could shake up the world. Or, at the very least, give us something to laugh about.

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2026-02-12 18:12