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PRESS RELEASE.

In a crypto landscape where Bitcoin frequently tops $100K and commands a $1.3 trillion market cap, Cardano (ADA) is carving a transformative path through its integration with Bitcoin. Announced in October 2024, this integration, powered by the BitcoinOS (BOS) Grail Bridge, uses zero-knowledge cryptography to connect two of the most prominent blockchains. This initiative aims to unlock Bitcoin’s vast liquidity for Cardano’s decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, placing Cardano as a leader in cross-chain innovation. Both blockchains benefit from the strengths of each and this synergy makes it possible to do more in crypto. Let’s take a deeper look at what that means for BTC & ADA.

How Both Blockchains Benefit

Cardano’s BTC integration creates a symbiotic relationship, enhancing the strengths of both Bitcoin and Cardano through technical ingenuity and strategic alignment.

Cardano’s Gains

Cardano taps into Bitcoin’s unparalleled liquidity—over $1.3 trillion as of early 2025—via the BOS Grail Bridge. This bridge uses the BitSNARK protocol, a zero-knowledge proof system, to enable trustless, secure transfers of BTC onto Cardano’s smart contract platform. In short, BitSNARK makes sure your Bitcoin transfers to Cardano remain private, secure, and reliable.

Unlike traditional bridges requiring off-chain custody, the Grail Bridge keeps Bitcoin on its native chain while allowing it to interact with Cardano’s extended UTXO (eUTxO) model. This model is Cardano’s way of handling transactions, where each transaction spends outputs from previous ones—like paying with exact cash and getting change—allowing safer, clearer, and more predictable blockchain interactions.

This opens doors to DeFi applications like lending and yield farming, powered by Cardano’s Ouroboros proof-of-stake consensus, which processes transactions with lower energy costs than Bitcoin’s proof-of-work. Upcoming upgrades like Leios further boost scalability, preparing Cardano for a surge in BTC-driven activity.

ADA Spotlight: Sundial

Sundial, a Layer 2 solution bridging Cardano and Bitcoin, launched in late 2024 to unlock Bitcoin’s $1.3 trillion liquidity for Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem. Built on Cardano’s secure eUTxO model and Ouroboros consensus, Sundial processes transactions off-chain for increased speed, lower costs, and scalability.

“This partnership brings together Bitcoin’s security and Cardano’s flexibility, creating new opportunities for DeFi and real-world use. Our L2 will bridge these ecosystems, making transactions faster, more scalable, and more efficient,” stated Sundial founder Sheldon Hunt.

In partnership with Tesseract, Sundial protocol aims to handle thousands of transactions per second, integrating Bitcoin seamlessly and securely into Cardano’s rapidly growing ecosystem of 1,370+ projects. By enabling Bitcoin-backed lending and trading, Sundial positions Cardano as a major DeFi hub for institutional users, potentially pushing ADA above $3 by late 2025 and reinforcing Cardano’s role as a leading interoperable blockchain.

Bitcoin’s Advantages on Cardano

For Bitcoin, this integration opens the prospect of smart contract functionality without altering its core protocol. The BOS Grail Bridge enables BTC holders to engage in DeFi on Cardano—like decentralized exchanges or collateralized loans—while preserving Bitcoin’s security and simplicity. This doesn’t compromise Bitcoin’s foundational design but extends its utility beyond a store of value.

The BitSNARK protocol ensures privacy-preserving smart contracts, maintaining Bitcoin’s ethos of decentralization. With Cardano handling over 100 million transactions to date and hosting 1370+ Web3 projects, Bitcoin unlocks a partner chain to explore new use cases.

Top Benefits for Cardano Users Today

Cardano users are already reaping rewards from this integration, with practical enhancements boosting accessibility and utility.

Enhanced DeFi Access

Bitcoin’s liquidity flowing into Cardano means users can now stake BTC in DeFi protocols, earn yields, or use it as collateral—all secured by zero-knowledge cryptography. This expands Cardano’s 1300+ project ecosystem, which includes decentralized applications (dApps) built on its Plutus smart contract platform.

Babel Fees Simplify Interaction

Cardano’s unique Babel Fees system lets users pay transaction fees in BTC instead of ADA, which is great for Bitcoin holders. This removes the need to acquire ADA upfront, lowering entry barriers and streamlining cross-chain participation. Imagine a BTC holder joining a Cardano liquidity pool without swapping assets—Babel Fees make it seamless.

Scalability in Action

With Leios on the horizon and Ouroboros already delivering high throughput, Cardano handles increased DeFi traffic efficiently. Users benefit from lower costs—often fractions of a cent per transaction—compared to Ethereum’s gas fees, making BTC-based DeFi on Cardano both practical and affordable. Sundial’s L2 bridging hints at even faster, cheaper transactions, though it’s still emerging.

Community Governance

Cardano’s decentralized governance, rooted in its Voltaire phase, empowers users to shape the ecosystem. Bitcoin’s integration amplifies this, drawing in a broader community to vote on upgrades via on-chain mechanisms. This participatory model, paired with regulatory engagement in Washington D.C., builds trust among users and institutions alike.

In short, Cardano users gain a richer, more accessible DeFi landscape, fueled by Bitcoin’s scale and secured by cutting-edge tech.

Future Vision: Bitcoin and Cardano in Harmony

The ultimate goal of this integration transcends price speculation—it’s about making Bitcoin even more expansive in the multichain era of crypto. By merging Bitcoin’s liquidity with Cardano’s smart contract abilities, the duo makes for a better experience especially if you’re a Bitcoiner. You get to drive financial innovation on BTC on an unprecedented scale.

Picture a future where Bitcoin powers decentralized lending platforms on Cardano, or where BTC-backed stablecoins thrive across multichain ecosystems—all without centralized intermediaries. Sundial and other L2’s integrated with BTC & ADA could accelerate this by enhancing scalability, potentially handling thousands of transactions per second. Cardano’s research-driven approach, with over 200 academic papers behind it, ensures this vision is grounded in rigor, not hype.

Bitcoin trusts Cardano to grow the network, and that is proof enough of Cardano’s firepower in the coming crypto cycles. Analysts like Michaël van de Poppe see ADA hitting $3 short-term, with $10 possible by year-end 2025 if adoption surges. Yet there are still some challenges: Bitcoin’s conservative base needs convincing, and technical hurdles in cross-chain architecture persist.

But if realized, Cardano becomes Bitcoin’s smart contract layer, unlocking $1.3 trillion in value for DeFi while reinforcing Cardano’s role as a sustainable, scalable blockchain. This is about a symbiotic leap forward in crypto, blending Bitcoin’s dominance with Cardano’s innovation to reshape finance for millions.

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