Bitlayer, a Bitcoin Layer 2 built on the BitVM paradigm, has partnered with three of the world's largest bitcoin

Bitcoin's ecosystem has lagged behind other Layer 1s like Ethereum for years due to technical limitations — especially its lack of support for Turing-complete smart contracts.

Part of BitVM, a Bitcoin Layer 2 focused on the BitVM paradigm, has partnered with three of the world’s largest bitcoin mining pools — Antpool, F2Pool, and SpiderPool. Together, they represent over 36% of Bitcoin’s total computing power (hashrate) and their cooperation will be crucial for BitVM’s deployment.

The three firms have agreed to support non-standard transactions (NSTs), a special type of transaction that is not relayed by the default Bitcoin Core software and therefore requires miners’ inclusion in blocks.

Their support for NSTs removes a key bottleneck to BitVM deployment and brings the system closer to widespread use.

Non-standard transactions are transactions that are valid according to Bitcoin’s consensus rules but are not relayed by the default Bitcoin Core software, making them difficult to get confirmed on-chain without miner cooperation.

However, BitVM’s challenge-response mechanism relies heavily on non-standard transactions for its functionality.

A subsidiary of Bitmain Technologies, Antpool is one of the world’s largest bitcoin mining pools and has been a key driver of Biticoin’s hashrate growth over the past decade.

F2Pool is a leading cryptocurrency mining pool founded in 2014 by members of the Bitcoin community in China. It is known for its support of open-source software and community engagement.

SpiderPool, a prominent cryptocurrency mining pool, is recognized for its technological advancements and contributions to the blockchain ecosystem. Founded in 2014, SpiderPool has become a trusted name in the mining industry.

The BitVM bridge is a special tool that facilitates the secure and reliable movement of BTC into other blockchain ecosystems — such as rollups, cross-chain protocols, and smart contracts — without relying on centralized intermediaries. It opens the door for broader Bitcoin DeFi applications while preserving the network’s robust security guarantees.

“BitVM represents the most credible path to bring on-chain validation to Bitcoin while maintaining its core security. This partnership solves the critical last-mile challenge of getting Non-Standard Transactions included on-chain,” said Kevin He, co-founder of Bitlayer.

This isn’t just a milestone for Bitlayer — it’s a strategic win for miners as well, especially as they face dwindling income due to per-block BTC rewards being cut in half every four years.

Andy, CEO of Antpool, noted that Bitlayer's BitVM can help drive new economic activity and fee-based income for miners.

“Built on BitVM, Bitlayer enables BTC to flow into DeFi and Layer 2 ecosystems. That means more use, more fees, and long-term sustainability for miners,” said Andy.

Leon Liang, chief strategy officer at F2Pool, added that they want to support high-quality projects like Bitlayer that expand what Bitcoin can do.

SpiderPool CTO Kenway said this partnership will let them unlock new possibilities for Bitcoin DeFi and enhance Bitcoin’s utility while reinforcing miners’ central role in the ecosystem.

Bitlayer's collaboration with these major mining pools follows recent integrations with leading Layer 1 ecosystems like Sui, Base, Arbitrum, and Starknet. Together, these partnerships highlight the growing demand for secure, Bitcoin-native DeFi infrastructure that can be scaled effectively.

Going forward, Bitlayer will continue onboarding more validators and early adopters to help secure and expand the BitVM Bridge — and to build what could become the cornerstone of Bitcoin’s next evolution.