The Bitcoin network has an average block time of about 10 minutes, which creates a challenge for decentralized finance applications. Update (2-4-26 at 6:49 UTC): This article has been updated to show the correct Stacks block time as 5 seconds Fireblocks, an institutional-grade crypto infrastructure company, announced on Wednesday that it will integrate Stacks, a decentralized finance (DeFi) layer for the Bitcoin protocol, to give institutional clients access to lending and yield-bearing opportunities. The integration bypasses the 10-minute Bitcoin block time by leveraging the Stacks blockchain, which has an average block time of about 5 seconds, a Stacks spokesperson told Cointelegraph. Read more
The partnership targets Bitcoin treasury management for Japanese companies using Rootstock-based tools, including rBTC and RIF. Animoca Brands Japan has partnered with RootstockLabs to introduce Bitcoin-native decentralized finance (DeFi) tools to Japanese corporations and institutions. The collaboration aims to localize and deploy Rootstock’s institutional program for the Japanese market, enabling companies to manage Bitcoin (BTC) as part of their corporate treasury strategies while accessing onchain financial tools secured by Bitcoin’s proof-of-work (PoW), according to a Tuesday announcement shared with Cointelegraph. “In Japan, an increasing number of companies are beginning to utilize cryptoassets as part of their financial and treasury strategies,” said Kensuke Amo, CEO of Animoca Brands Japan. “Through this partnership, Animoca Brands Japan and RootstockLabs will support corporate adoption of cryptoassets in a manner compliant with Japan's regulatory environment.” Read more
Rootstock’s merged mining hit an all-time high in Q1 2025, even as DeFi TVL dropped 20% and user activity cooled across the Bitcoin DeFi ecosystem. Smart contract platform Rootstock, the home of decentralized finance (DeFi) on Bitcoin, saw a sharp increase in network security and mining engagement in the first quarter of 2025, even as activity cooled. Merged mining participation surged to an all-time high of 81%, up from 56.4% in Q4 2024, driven by the integration of major mining pools Foundry and SpiderPool, according to Messari’s first “State of Rootstock” report for 2025, shared with Cointelegraph. The heightened miner interest boosted Rootstock’s hash power to over 740 exahashes per second, surpassing the total Bitcoin network hashrate recorded in October 2024. As a result, the network is now considered to be in a “mature phase” of merged mining growth. Read more