The Solana-to-Bitcoin cross-chain bridge is targeted for Q3 2024 launch.

Solana-to-Bitcoin cross-chain bridge Zeus Network will launch the Zeus Program Library (ZPL) connecting the two ecosystems in Q3 2024.

“These ZPL-assets open up a world of opportunities on Solana,” Zues Network wrote on May 1. “Facilitating activities such as DeFi, GameFi, SocialFi, DePIN and others has previously been a challenge on the Bitcoin blockchain.”

ZPL is a collection of Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) programs that allow developers to integrate native Solana support into decentralized applications and power transactions across multiple blockchains. “ZPL-assets can be fungible (cryptocurrencies) or non-perishable (NFTs) representing many digital assets,” Zeus Network said:

“With a market cap of nearly $1.2 trillion and more than 11,000 runes on the Bitcoin blockchain, generating over $135 million in payouts in its first week, the potential to transfer value is high.”

Through ZPL and the Linking Protocol, Apollo users deposit Bitcoin (BTC) and in return receive ZPL-encapsulated zBTC tokens, which can then be used to participate in decentralized exchanges, NFT marketplaces, lending, borrowing, gaming, and SocialFi in Solana. The environment.

Developers plan to expand ZPL-backed assets in Solana to Bitcoin Runes and Ordinals, “zRuneX” and “zOrdX” respectively. Other tasks in the Q3 roadmap include allowing Bitcoin to be stored on the Apollo network.

Zeus Network is backed by Solana founder Anatoly Yakovenko and Stax founder Munib Ali. On April 8, the protocol received $8 million in funding at a $100 million valuation.

Released in April, Bitcoin Runes is a new token standard that expands the functionality of the Bitcoin blockchain by allowing users to stake real-world assets such as real estate, stocks, commodities, or other stablecoins.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin Ordinals is a numbering system that assigns a unique number to each satoshi, or 1/100 millionth of a Bitcoin, that enables tracking transfers and assigns unique assets to nominal blocks.

Bitcoin's decentralized application ecosystem is seeing a surge in the creation of such novel protocols. Last month, Orders Exchange completed an integration with the Bitcoin Runes protocol to allow fungible tokens to be issued on the native network and built a Bitcoin asset bridge with Microvision Chain to exchange BRC-20 tokens.

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