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Smart declaration level Rootstock, the location of decentralized concern (DeFi) connected Bitcoin, saw a crisp summation successful web information and mining engagement successful the archetypal 4th of 2025, adjacent arsenic enactment cooled.
Merged mining information surged to an all-time precocious of 81%, up from 56.4% successful Q4 2024, driven by the integration of large mining pools Foundry and SpiderPool, according to Messari’s archetypal “State of Rootstock” study for 2025, shared with Cointelegraph.
The heightened miner involvement boosted Rootstock’s hash powerfulness to implicit 740 exahashes per second, surpassing the full Bitcoin web hashrate recorded successful October 2024. As a result, the web is present considered to beryllium successful a “mature phase” of merged mining growth.
The accrued information coincided with a 60% simplification successful transaction fees, improving idiosyncratic acquisition and positioning Rootstock much competitively wrong the Bitcoin layer-2 ecosystem.
“As BTCFi continues to grow, Rootstock is well-positioned for broader adoption done halfway upgrades similar a 60% simplification successful transaction fees, alongside sustained concern successful builder acquisition and inducement programs,” Messari expert Andrew Yang said.
Rootstock overview for Q1 2025. Source: MessariRelated: Is this the extremity of Bitcoin DeFi?
Rootstock’s DeFi TVL drops
Despite the mining milestone, Rootstock’s DeFi ecosystem experienced a diminution successful total worth locked (TVL) during Q1 2025, with Bitcoin (BTC)-denominated TVL dropping 7.2% and US dollar-denominated TVL falling by 20% quarter-over-quarter to $179.9 million.
Although TVL concisely peaked astatine $244.6 cardinal successful January during a Bitcoin terms rally, it trended downward from March, reflecting broader marketplace cooling.
For perspective, Ethereum-based DeFi TVL besides saw a crisp 27% diminution successful Q1, deed hard by macro uncertainty and the $1.4 cardinal Bybit exploit, according to a study by DappRadar.
The stablecoin marketplace connected Rootstock besides underwent notable changes. USDt (USDT) remained the starring stablecoin by value, holding $3.8 cardinal and a 27.5% marketplace share. However, its dominance fell importantly from 41.3% successful Q4 2024.
By the extremity of Q1, nary azygous stablecoin commanded implicit 30% of Rootstock’s stablecoin market.
Active addresses dropped by 26.5%, and caller addresses plunged by 54.7%, though regular transactions roseate somewhat by 4.3%, reaching an mean of 11,524 per day.
Active addresses driblet connected Rootstock. Source: MessariRelated: Bitcoin output request booming arsenic institutions question liquidity — Solv CEO
Rootstock sees advancement connected improvement front
On the improvement front, the level activated its Lovell 7.0.0 upgrade, enhancing Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility and astute declaration performance.
Rootstock besides expanded its ecosystem done integrations with LayerZero and Meson Finance and launched developer-focused initiatives, including a caller hackathon and enhancements to its governance platform, RootstockCollective.
On May 1, Alexei Zamyatin, the co-founder of the Bitcoin furniture 2 Build connected Bitcoin, said that the archetypal DeFi institution to motorboat a user-friendly suite of products connected Bitcoin would “win the full market” of the blockchain’s 300 cardinal users.
Magazine: ZK-proofs unlock trillions successful Bitcoin for DeFi — BitcoinOS and Starknet
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