Economy
Top 3 Bitcoin DeFi Platforms You Should Check Out
Bitcoin DeFi is a relatively new concept that leverages Bitcoin layers and smart contracts to build decentralized financial applications. These DeFi platforms offer a variety of financial services, including lending, borrowing, trading, and more.
Unlike traditional finance, Bitcoin DeFi operates on a decentralized network, eliminating the need for banks, brokers, and other centralized institutions, while allowing anyone with an internet connection and a digital wallet to participate in the crypto markets.
3 Leading DeFi Platforms Built on Bitcoin
Bitcoin doesn’t natively support smart contracts, but layer 2 solutions like Rootstock (RSK), Build on Bitcoin (BoB), and Stacks bring smart contract capabilities to Bitcoin.
These platforms integrate Bitcoin’s robust security with the flexibility of decentralized applications (dApps), enabling DeFi functionality like those found on Ethereum. This enables consumers to access services like lending, borrowing, and trading. They can even buy runes tokens and other new tokens built on Bitcoin through these platforms.
While DeFi platforms built on Bitcoin perform different functions based on why the platform was built, they fill vital consumer needs or gaps in the ecosystem.
Let’s look at the three leading Bitcoin DeFi platforms to see what the market leaders in the ecosystem have to offer.
Sovryn
Sovryn is a decentralized finance platform built on Rootstock (RSK) and Build on Bitcoin (BoB). The platform provides a broad suite of DeFi services to Bitcoin users, empowering them to trade, earn interest, and access liquidity using BTC directly.
Sovryn offers users several core DeFi services, including:
- Decentralized trading: Sovryn supports decentralized spot and margin trading. Users can trade directly from their wallets with no need for intermediaries, maintaining full control of their assets.
- Lending and borrowing: Sovryn allows Bitcoin holders to earn interest by lending their BTC or borrowing funds using BTC as collateral. The lending protocol operates in a decentralized manner, meaning the platform acts as a facilitator but not a custodian.
- Liquidity provision: Users can provide liquidity to Sovryn’s decentralized exchange and earn rewards, typically in the form of trading fees or the platform’s native token, SOV.
- Staking: Sovyrn users can also earn staking rewards by depositing SOV.
Pros
- Offers a wide range of decentralized financial services
- Leverages Bitcoin’s security, making it less vulnerable to attacks
- Non-custodial, so users retain control of their private keys and assets
Cons
- Might be complex for new users
ALEX
ALEX is a DeFi platform built on the Stacks blockchain, a layer 2 protocol that connects to Bitcoin. ALEX seeks to build a comprehensive DeFi ecosystem where users can trade, lend, and borrow Bitcoin-based assets on Stacks.
The platform’s DeFi services include:
- Decentralized trading: ALEX offers a decentralized exchange (DEX) allowing permissionless trading of Bitcoin-backed assets, including stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies. The platform supports spot trading with a focus on maintaining liquidity for Bitcoin users.
- Lending and borrowing: Through ALEX, users can lend assets to earn interest or borrow against their Bitcoin holdings. These decentralized lending services are a key feature for users who want to access liquidity without selling their BTC.
- Yield farming and staking: ALEX provides opportunities for yield generation, where users can earn rewards by staking assets and providing liquidity to the platform’s pools.
Pros
- Supports a wider range of tokens than other Bitcoin DeFi platforms
- Benefits from an increasingly integrated ecosystem as Stacks keeps developing
Cons
- Relatively slower than other networks, impacting trading speeds and overall user experience
- Complex for new users
Velar
Velar is a newcomer to the Bitcoin DeFi scene, aiming to bring advanced decentralized finance functionality to Bitcoin users in a seamless and scalable way.
Built on Stacks, Velar offers decentralized trading, token launches and more.
Velar’s key features include:
- Decentralized lending and borrowing: Velar’s primary focus is providing efficient lending and borrowing services for bitcoin and other assets. Users can lock up their bitcoin to borrow other assets or lend out bitcoin to earn interest.
- Synthetic asset creation: Velar also enables the creation of synthetic assets, which are tokenized versions of real-world assets that track the value of their physical counterparts. This feature allows users to gain exposure to traditional markets while operating within a decentralized Bitcoin DeFi ecosystem.
- Liquidity pools: Like other DeFi platforms, Velar allows users to provide liquidity to decentralized pools and earn rewards.
Pros
- Synthetic assets on the platform offer more diverse ways to interact with the platform and manage their portfolios
- Benefits from Bitcoin’s security while maintaining faster transaction speeds than the Bitcoin base layer.
- User-friendly interface making DeFi services accessible even to new users
Cons
- Lower liquidity compared to more established DeFi platforms
- May be too complex for new users
Wrapping Up
Bitcoin DeFi is still in its early stages, but platforms like Sovryn, ALEX, and Velar are proving that decentralized financial services can thrive on Bitcoin.
Whether you’re looking for non-custodial trading, decentralized lending, or even exposure to synthetic assets, each of these platforms brings something unique to the table.
Whether you’re a long-time Bitcoin holder or new to DeFi, these platforms are worth exploring as you dive into the future of decentralized finance on Bitcoin.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The submission of the second quarter of 2026 Ownership Structure and Capital Flows Returns by capital market operators in Nigeria closes today, Friday, July 10, 2026.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) gave all registrars, brokers/dealers, fund managers and other relevant capital market operators this deadline via a statement on Wednesday, July 8, 2026.
The documents are needed in support of the compilation of Nigeria’s Balance of Payments (BOP) and International Investment Position (IIP) statistics.
According to the SEC, the exercise forms part of ongoing efforts to improve the quality, coverage, and reliability of Nigeria’s external sector statistics.
Operators are required to provide quarterly data on new equity and debt investments by residents and non-residents; equity and debt holdings of non-residents in Nigerian entities and those of Nigerian residents in foreign entities; investments arising from mergers, acquisitions, and other business combinations involving resident and non-resident entities; and other cross-border capital market transactions.
Specifically, reporting entities are required to submit information on investments in newly issued equities and debt securities; foreign portfolio investment holdings in Nigerian companies; ownership interests arising from business combinations involving non-residents; investments by multinational corporations in the Nigerian capital market; equity investments held abroad by resident companies; and bond investments held abroad by resident companies.
The regulator reminded operators that accurate and timely reporting is critical to the compilation of reliable BOP and IIP statistics, directing all fund managers, brokers/dealers, registrars, and other relevant capital market operators to ensure full and timely compliance with this reporting requirement.
It thanked those who have consistently complied with this requirement and acknowledged their contribution to this important national assignment.
It noted that the submission of ownership structure and capital flows data is a continuous quarterly reporting obligation, advising them to carefully review the guidance accompanying each reporting template and ensure that all submissions are complete, accurate, and submitted within the stipulated timeline.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange was weakened by 1.19 per cent on Thursday, July 9, by three bellwether stocks on the platform.
Consequently, the NASD Security Index (NSI) lost 50.47 points to close at 4,199.73 compared with the previous day’s 4,250.20 points, and the market capitalisation gave up N30.29 billion to settle at N2.520 trillion versus Wednesday’s closing value of N2.551 trillion.
The price decliners were led by 11 Plc, which fell by N20.54 to sell at N200.01 per share compared with the preceding session’s N220.55 per share. FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc crashed by N11.48 to trade at N140.51 per unit compared with the N151.98 per unit it ended a day earlier, and UBN Property Plc depreciated by 19 Kobo to N1.80 per share from N1.99 per share.
Business Post reports that the sole gainer at the session was IPWA Plc, which added 88 Kobo to quote at N9.71 per unit, in contrast to the previous day’s closing price of N8.83 per unit.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by market participants surged by 14,965.4 per cent to 23.9 million units from the previous session’s 158,933 units, and the value of stocks rose by 528.1 per cent to N68.2 million from the preceding session’s N10.9 million, while the number of deals decreased by 3.2 per cent to 30 deals from Wednesday’s 31 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc closed the trading day as the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 70.7 million units exchanged for N4.9 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
A slowdown in the demand for foreign exchange (FX) strengthened the value of the Nigerian Naira against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, July 9.
At the official market, the Naira gained 64 Kobo or 0.05 per cent against the greenback yesterday to sell at N1,378.43/$1 compared with Wednesday’s exchange rate of N1,379.07/$1.
The market saw a sharp decrease in transaction volume and value, meaning that heavy demand for the Dollar eased.
Interbank FX turnover reduced sharply by more than 62 per cent to $78.708 million, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), from $208.094 million in the preceding day.
FX traders also noticed a sharp decline in the number of deals at the NFEM window in the absence of Dollar injection by the central bank. Deal counts shrank to 106 during the NFEM window, down from 150, reflecting a slowdown in FX activity among market makers.
However, the local currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the spot market during the session by N6.18 to N1,846.82/£1 from N1,840.64/£1, and declined against the Euro by N2.79 to close at N1,576.09/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,573.30/€1.
At the GTBank FX desk, the Naira lost N4 against the US Dollar to quote at N1,385/$1, in contrast to the N1,381/$1 it was traded at midweek, and at the parallel market, it remained unchanged at N1,400/$1.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market soared after a moderation in oil prices and bond yields following the collapse of the Iran war ceasefire.
As has been the pattern for months, markets are looking past inflamed rhetoric and new airstrikes to likely conciliatory statements in the near future.
Bitcoin (BTC) gained 2.3 per cent to sell at $64,048.89, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 1.9 per cent to $0.0741, Ethereum (ETH) expanded by 1.6 per cent to $1,777.98, Solana (SOL) rose by 1.0 per cent to $79.13, Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 0.9 per cent to $1.10, Binance Coin (BNB) added 0.6 per cent to sell for $576.91, and TRON (TRX) also improved by 0.6 per cent to $0.3329.
However, Cardano (ADA) crashed by 0.9 per cent to $0.1669, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
