Hamilton, an innovative crypto startup, has introduced tokenized United States Treasury bonds on Bitcoin layer-2 blockchains, heralding it as a pioneering initiative.

Hamilton U.S. T-Bills (HUST) will be accessible on the Stacks, Core, and BoB (Build on Bitcoin) Bitcoin layer-2 networks. The inaugural transaction utilizing HUST transpired on July 4, as per the company’s announcement.

Merging Bitcoin’s Robustness with Yield Beyond Stablecoins

Integrating Bitcoin layer-2 decentralized finance ecosystems leverages the enduring stability of the Bitcoin network alongside the reliability of the U.S. dollar. These Bitcoin layer-2 solutions enhance the network’s scalability and functionality. Hamilton’s co-founder and CEO, identified only as Kasstawi, remarked:

“Integrating US Treasury bills with Bitcoin’s security and transparency marks a historic stride toward financial autonomy, affording essential exposure to burgeoning markets.”

Bitcoin Layer-2s Flourish Amid Layer-1 Slowdown

Tokenized real-world assets (RWAs)—including T-Bills, real estate, securities, and analogous financial instruments—can now engage in the Web3 economy through swapping, transferring, and leveraging, amassing $8 billion in total value locked. The U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy has rendered T-Bills competitive with stablecoin yields but with significantly lower risk.

Since 2023, the Bitcoin network has embraced three token standards. Besides Bitcoin (BTC), Ordinals were launched at the year’s outset to enable non-fungible token (NFT) inscriptions on satoshis. In April 2024, Runes emerged to facilitate altcoin issuance directly on the Bitcoin blockchain.

Read more: McKinsey Predicts Limited Growth in Tokenized RWAs by 2030

The burgeoning traffic on the Bitcoin network, causing slower processing times and elevated fees, has spurred the development of Bitcoin layer-2 solutions. The Bitcoin layer-2 Lightning Network was engineered to expedite BTC transfers more efficiently than layer-1.

Layer-2 solutions also facilitate smart-contract-dependent decentralized finance, known as BTCfi, on the Bitcoin network.

Core DAO’s Layer-1 and Layer-2 Operations

Core DAO, the host of HUST, operates a layer-1 blockchain alongside its BTC layer-2 solution, backed by cryptocurrency exchanges Bitget and MEXC.