Untapped Market

With a market cap of ~$2T, Bitcoin is dominating the crypto market with a ~60% share. Yet its share in DeFi is only 0.4% vs 18% for Ethereum — ~60x gap translating to a ~$500B untapped market. Institutions & large BTC holders want liquidity & yield without selling, wrapping, or giving up custody of their BTC. A level of capital efficiency that maintains growth potential while avoiding centralization risks and tax complications of wrapped tokens.

The Opportunity

The post-FTX shift toward self-custody, coupled with regulatory constraints on wrapped tokens and custodial rails in markets like the US, has amplified demand for secure, Bitcoin-native lending solutions. BTCFi protocols like Babylon, with $5-6B+ in TVL, highlight the explosive growth potential in BTCFi, yet current offerings primarily focus on staking rather than versatile lending.

Optimex targets this opportunity by offering BTC-backed stablecoin loans and yield strategies using self-custodial, Bitcoin-native multisig technology. This enables users to access deep liquidity and compelling rates across DeFi, stablecoins, and real-world assets (RWAs), without counterparty risks or tax complications. With the crypto-backed lending market projected to grow exponentially, Optimex is poised to capture significant institutional and high-net-worth demand, unlocking Bitcoin’s dormant capital for scalable, secure lending in the rapidly expanding BTCFi ecosystem.

Wrapped BTC (WBTC) in EVM DeFi: The Trade-Offs

To bring BTC liquidity into DeFi, many protocols use Wrapped BTC (WBTC)—an ERC-20 token that represents BTC on Ethereum and other EVM chains. While WBTC enables Bitcoin holders to participate in DeFi without selling their BTC, it comes with several risks:

• Centralized Custody: WBTC is backed 1:1 by Bitcoin held by regulated custodians, meaning users must trust that these entities securely store and honestly manage the BTC reserves.

• Transparency Concerns: While custodians conduct audits, WBTC lacks real-time proof of reserves, leaving users unable to independently verify backing at any moment.

• Regulatory & Legal Risks: Custodians operate under legal jurisdictions that may freeze or seize assets, and regulatory changes could impact the ability of custodians to manage BTC reserves safely.

• Censorship & Blacklisting: Centralized entities can freeze or blacklist specific WBTC addresses upon regulatory request, introducing censorship risk.