Bitlayer

Bitlayer (BTR) emerges as a premier Bitcoin Layer 2 solution, distinguishing itself through deep technical innovation in the BitVM ecosystem rather than relying on standard forks. The project achieves an exceptional weighted score, driven by a highly credible team with leadership experience from Polygon and Huobi, and top-tier institutional backing from Franklin Templeton and Polychain Capital. Active development is robust, characterized by significant upstream contributions to BitVM research and reduced zero-knowledge proof verification sizes. Security is a standout pillar, with a clean track record and multiple audits from firms like Hacken. Market positioning is strong with over $400M TVL, leveraging the 'BTCFi' narrative to unlock Bitcoin liquidity. While Tokenomics is the lowest-scoring section (7.8/10) due to potential inflationary pressure from investor vesting and centralization risks in the ecosystem fund, the implementation of a 'Fee Switch' provides a solid value accrual mechanism. Community engagement is high, though heavily incentivized. Overall, Bitlayer represents a high-conviction infrastructure play with institutional-grade fundamentals.