Founded by BadgerDAO’s Chris Spadafora, Corn is designed to bridge the gap between two cryptocurrency giants—Bitcoin and Ethereum—within the DeFi ecosystem.
On August 14, 2024, Corn announced a $6.7 million fundraising round led by Polychain Capital, with participation from notable investors such as Binance Labs, Framework Ventures, Sandeep Nailwal from Polygon, and Udi Wertheimer from Taproot Wizards.
This fundraising aims to support the launch and development of the Corn ecosystem, which is believed to breathe new life into Bitcoin in the DeFi world.
Corn: Revitalizing Using Bitcoin as Gas Fees
Chris Spadafora explained that Corn is designed to give Bitcoin more utility beyond its basic function as a store of value. Although Bitcoin is the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, most Bitcoin holders still treat it as a “pet rock”—a valuable asset that is stored but rarely used in practical applications.
With Corn, Spadafora hopes to change this perception and make Bitcoin more relevant in the DeFi ecosystem, which is largely dominated by Ethereum.
“Our goal is really to make it easy for people to use Bitcoin,” Spadafora said. “While there is a lot of great innovation happening with Bitcoin—which we are very excited about—there really isn’t much to do with Bitcoin at the moment. Bitcoin is still like a pet rock, it’s in this cage, and we need to get it out of there.”
To realize this vision, Corn utilizes Layer-2 technology, a blockchain network built on top of another blockchain. In this case, Corn is built on Ethereum but uses Bitcoin as the gas fees for every transaction occurring on its network.
Gas fees are the costs paid to execute transactions or smart contracts on a blockchain, and in Corn, these fees will be paid using Bitcoin, providing new value and utility for Bitcoin holders.
BTCN: An Innovative Bitcoin Tokenization
One of the key innovations introduced by Corn is BTCN, a hybrid token representing tokenized Bitcoin. BTCN is backed 1:1 by native Bitcoin and is designed to offer new options for Bitcoin holders who want to leverage their assets in the DeFi ecosystem.
According to Spadafora, BTCN is different from other wrapped Bitcoin versions currently available, which often use centralized intermediaries or decentralized protocols.
BTCN gives Bitcoin holders more control over their assets, allowing them to choose how their Bitcoin is stored and used in various DeFi applications.
“When you have to move into Ethereum or other assets, you have to give up exposure to Bitcoin,” Spadafora said. “I think there is an inherent interest in keeping exposure to Bitcoin while playing in the DeFi ecosystem—and not only being able to put it to work but also experiment with new, fun things.”
Growing Interest in Bitcoin-Based DeFi
The success of Corn’s $6.7 million fundraising round demonstrates strong interest in developing Bitcoin-based DeFi solutions.
In recent months, many developers and the crypto community have begun to recognize the potential of combining Bitcoin’s security and value with the flexibility and innovation of DeFi on Ethereum.
“The amount of activity and action around Bitcoin DeFi is very high right now,” Spadafora said on Twitter. “It’s only a matter of time before we see broader adoption of Bitcoin in the DeFi ecosystem, and Corn is a crucial step in making that happen.”
Corn is not the first project to attempt combining Bitcoin with Ethereum, but its innovation in using Bitcoin as gas fees and introducing BTCN as a hybrid token offers a fresh and exciting approach.
With support from leading investors and a growing community, Corn has the potential to become a key player in the rapidly expanding DeFi ecosystem.
The Future of Corn and Bitcoin in DeFi
With the launch of Corn, the future of Bitcoin in the DeFi world looks increasingly promising. This project not only provides new utility for Bitcoin but also expands the DeFi ecosystem by adding Bitcoin’s unique security and value elements.
For Bitcoin holders, Corn offers the opportunity to participate more actively in DeFi innovations without having to give up exposure to Bitcoin.
Corn’s success could also trigger a new wave of similar projects that seek to fully harness Bitcoin’s potential in the DeFi ecosystem.
With a combination of technological innovation and strong financial backing, Corn is well-positioned to become one of the leading innovators in bridging the worlds of Bitcoin and Ethereum in the future.
Thus, Corn is not just a new Layer-2 solution, but also a representation of how Bitcoin can evolve into more than just a stored asset, becoming an actively used tool in the world of decentralized finance.