Cardano Wallet Lace Expands to Bitcoin, Targeting a Multi-Chain Future

Cardano’s light wallet Lace has reached a major milestone with the release of version 1.22, which brings Bitcoin support to users in beta.

This update marks Lace’s first step into becoming a multi-chain wallet, with users now able to store, send, and manage Bitcoin directly from the Lace interface. The Lace development team described the upgrade as a “big one,” aligning with Cardano’s vision of cross-chain interoperability.

The announcement quickly drew a comment from Cardano founder and Input Output Global (IOG) CEO Charles Hoskinson. Reacting to the news on X, Hoskinson celebrated the moment, confirming that users can now interact with Bitcoin on the Cardano wallet.

You can now use Bitcoin with Lace. Welcome home Bitcoin https://t.co/37Ms3BfTIZ

— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) April 28, 2025

His excitement stems from Cardano’s broader goal to integrate Bitcoin into its decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. While this Bitcoin support within Lace does not yet signify the full realization of Bitcoin DeFi on Cardano, it is a significant step in that direction.

For Hoskinson, this move marks the culmination of several years of efforts to bridge Bitcoin’s vast liquidity with Cardano’s smart contract platform. The Cardano founder had previously hinted at the impending integration, stating earlier this month that it is closer than most people realize.

Specifically, Cardano’s roadmap includes partnerships like the one with BitcoinOS, which will be utilizing zero-knowledge (ZK) for trustless Bitcoin bridging, and protocols such as Midnight and Midgard, designed to enable private and secure Bitcoin staking without the need for wrapped tokens.

In the context of this broader integration strategy, Hoskinson is aiming for a complete demonstration of Bitcoin DeFi integration as early as next month, May 2025, at the Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas. As the ecosystem eagerly anticipates this move, Lace’s new Bitcoin functionality offers a glimpse into Cardano’s future ambitions.

However, it’s crucial to note that while Lace’s Bitcoin feature is a significant addition for users, it primarily serves as a storage and management tool at this stage. It is not yet part of the larger Bitcoin DeFi infrastructure that is being built.

For full Bitcoin DeFi integration, mechanisms like Babel fees, which allow users to pay transaction fees in Bitcoin, and merged mining possibilities are being explored, positioning Cardano as a smart contract layer for Bitcoin. This will enable seamless interoperability and liquidity transfer between the two chains.

What’s New in Lace 1.22

Besides Bitcoin support, version 1.22 of the Lace light wallet also includes several other fixes and improvements.

One notable issue that has been resolved was previously reported by users who had trouble with DRep identities for governance dApps. This integration is used for dApps that require users to be recognized in order to fully participate, such as voting in on-chain governance.

Moreover, the latest Lace update includes fixes for hardware wallet interactions. Specifically, it adjusts output format mappings, which had previously caused failures when connecting the Lace wallet to decentralized applications.

Earlier this month, Hoskinson also confirmed that the Lace light wallet could be getting support for XRP.

The latest Lace update is part of a broader series of upgrades that have steadily enhanced the Cardano wallet’s capabilities throughout 2024 and 2025.

Earlier Lace Upgrades

Earlier versions like 1.9 introduced multi-account and multi-wallet setups, allowing users to manage various wallets under a single recovery phrase, enhancing both convenience and security.

The 1.12 release added multi-staking capabilities alongside Trezor and Ledger hardware wallet integration, making it easier for ADA holders to delegate across multiple pools. Later updates focused on performance, such as 1.17.5’s improvements to synchronization speeds and 1.19.0’s introduction of a DApp Explorer powered by DappRadar.

Last December, Hoskinson teased that Lace could be a “powerhouse” in 2025. This came on the back of fixes that improved its Nami mode following the migration of over 200,000 Nami wallet users into Lace.