Opinion by: Matt Mudano, CEO of Arch Labs
Ethereum is difficult, and decentralized finances (DEFI) suffer as a result. Layer-2 solutions (L2) have a fracture of liquidity, which is ineffective. In search of greener pastures, the community turned to Solana-Lang to find a memecoin-driven ecosystem that was fueling through pump-and-dump schemes, attracting liquidity extractors, and turning the chain into a playground for imaginary and fraud.
Defi needed a reset to return to the first principles and aligned with Satoshi’s original vision of a decentralized financial system. The only network capable of maintaining Defi’s next evolution is not Ethereum or Solana. It’s Bitcoin.
Defi is struggling with Ethereum
Ethereum used to be unobtrusive home of the defi, but now, it is clear that the ecosystem is struggling. The network’s roadmap is constantly changing, with no clear path to long -term maintenance.
L2 solutions should measure Ethereum. Instead, they break the Defi with the separation of liquidity. As L2s have lowered transaction fees, they are now competing for liquidity rather than contributing to a single financial system. The result? A fragment scene that makes the capital and defi protocol ineffective more difficult to measure.
Ethereum’s suggested solution – chain abstraction – sound that promises theory but failed to practice. The main issue is a structure that is incorrectly revoked by incentives, and as a result, the Ethereum is gradually losing its competitive edge.
It’s time to ask: Can Defi’s future lie in an Ethereum fragment?
Solana is not the answer
With Ethereum’s disappearance of its competitive side, many developers and users turned to Solana. The blockchain has seen a 83% increase in developer activity The year-on-year, and its decentralized exchanges (Dex) release Ethereum for five consecutive months.
There is one major problem: Solana’s Defi growth is not built on sustainable financial applications – a Memecoin Frenzy fuels it.
The recent climbing activity is not driven by a change in decentralized finances but through the conceptual trading. Following Trump’s memecoin craze, the total extracted amount from Solana’s Memecoins reached between $ 3.6 billion and $ 6.6 billion. This is not the growth of Defi-it is a liquidity engine where short-term speculators are cash in and continue.
Solana has real strength. Speed and low transaction costs make it perfect for high-frequency trading, and its ecosystem has taken significant steps in decentralized physical infrastructure networks (depins), AI and decentralized science, or desci. But memecoin speculation dominated a chain in a playground for fraud and pump-and-dump schemes. That’s not the foundation of the defi.
Solana is not the answer if the goal is to develop a long -term financial system.
Bitcoin Defi has evolved
It is time to return to the first principles and develop Defi to the original blockchain: Bitcoin – the most trusted, decentralized network supported by the worst currency in the digital economy.
This is not just theoretical. Bitcoin Defi is already experiencing growth growth. Consider the numbers: the total amount locked (TVL) in the Bitcoin Defi rises from $ 300 million in early 2024 to $ 5.4 billion to Feb. 28, 2025 – a tedious 1,700% increase. The bitcoin staking sector is dominant, with protocols such as Babylon ($ 4.68 billion TVL), Lombard ($ 1.59 billion) and SolvBTC ($ 715 million) leading the charge. It shows the growing demand for Bitcoin to be a productive owner than a passive value store.
Recently: Bitcoin Defi takes stage
The Bitcoin-native defi is not just copying the Ethereum playbook-it is leading the new financial models. Space advances introduced dual staking, allowing users to stake bitcoin (Btc) next to native tokens to enhance security and earn produce. Meanwhile, the novel has approached Bitcoin’s hashrates with the power of collateral mining for lending, borrowing and staking, further expanding the Bitcoin financial utility.
In addition, BRC-20 ordinances and tokens pushed high-record transaction activity, with inscriptions reaching 66.7 million and formed $ 420 million on fees-emphasizing the growing demand for tokenized assets in Bitcoin.
Obviously Bitcoin is no longer digital gold – it becomes the foundation for the next stage of decentralized finance.
Defi’s future is in Bitcoin
The Defi’s future lies in Bitcoin, where incentives align the long -term value creation. Unlike the Fragment model of Ethereum and Solana’s imaginary economy, Bitcoin-based bitcoin has been built on grade-institutional and sustainable growth.
As the largest and most liquid properties of crypto, Bitcoin boasts a $ 1.7 trillion market cap and $ 94 billion in the funds that have been exchanged (ETF). Even a small portion of this liquidity moving to Defi will be a game replacement. Bitcoin holds more than $ 1 trillion on unfinished liquidity and continues to attract strong interest from institutional investors and wealth funds, including governments Its exploration as a potential reserve owner.
Many projects build on Bitcoin, developing a sustainable ecosystem in which users can handle the most trusted digital assets while making it productive through defi mechanisms.
Ethereum had a moment. Solana had a hype. It is Bitcoin’s turn to carry out Satoshi’s original vision of a decentralized financial system.
Opinion by: Matt Mudano, CEO of Arch Labs.
This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be done as legal or investment advice. The views, attitudes, and opinions expressed here are unique and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of the cointelegraph.
