Bitcoin DeFi Startup BOB Secures $21 Million in Strategic Funding Round
Bitcoin layer-2 network Build on Bitcoin (BOB) has secured $21 million in strategic funding rounds since December 2024. According to Cointelegraph, the company raised $9.5 million in its latest strategic round. Castle Island Ventures led the funding alongside new investors including Anchorage, Amber Group, and sats Ventures.
Many existing investors increased their financial commitments in the latest funding round. The company operates a hybrid chain model that combines Bitcoin's security with Ethereum's DeFi capabilities. BOB currently maintains $212 million in total value locked with 553,000 active users. The platform's DeFi TVL stands at $132.2 million as of Thursday. A mainnet launch is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2025.
Why This Investment Matters for Bitcoin DeFi
The funding represents strong institutional confidence in Bitcoin-based DeFi solutions. Nic Carter, founding partner of Castle Island, stated the firm continues to believe Bitcoin will be the bedrock of DeFi. Carter described BOB as a potential "marquee L2" in the Bitcoin scaling space. The investment comes as the broader BitcoinFi ecosystem reaches new milestones. According to crypto.news, BitcoinFi protocols surpassed $10 billion in total value locked during the first half of 2025.
BOB's technology development focuses on the BitVM bridge deployment. The bridge will enable native Bitcoin to be used in DeFi applications without requiring wrapped tokens. Dominik Harz, BOB's chief technology officer, identified the BitVM bridge as the company's next major milestone. The bridge will facilitate BTC transfers to other smart-contract chains including Solana and Ethereum. This addresses a key limitation in Bitcoin DeFi where users previously relied on centralized institutions or wrapped Bitcoin tokens.
Implications for the Bitcoin Layer 2 Landscape
BOB's funding success reflects the growing momentum behind Bitcoin scaling solutions. The company operates as both an Ethereum rollup via the OP Stack and a Bitcoin-secured network through Babylon integration. This hybrid approach differentiates BOB from traditional layer-2 solutions that focus on single-chain architectures. CoinDesk reports that the investment brings BOB's total funding to $21 million following previous 2024 raises.
The funding occurs during increased institutional interest in Bitcoin infrastructure projects. We previously reported that 15 US states have begun establishing government-owned Bitcoin reserves following President Trump's executive order to explore a national cryptocurrency stockpile. This governmental adoption creates additional demand for Bitcoin utility layers like BOB.
BOB's approach challenges traditional Bitcoin DeFi models that relied on centralized custody solutions. The platform's testnet recently went live with support from partners including Lombard, Amber Digital, and RockawayX. Co-founder Alexei Zamyatin claims Bitcoin's full potential represents a $750 billion market opportunity for Bitcoin DeFi. The company positions itself as the "Gateway to Bitcoin DeFi" with plans to launch BTC-staked finality by the end of 2025.
