Badger DAO and RenVM announce launch of BTC-to-Ethereum 'Badger Bridge

DeFi protocols Badger DAO and RenVM announced the launch of “Badger Bridge,” a Bitcoin-to-Ethereum bridge that will allow Bitcoin holders to bring their BTC to Ethereum and deposit it into yield-bearing vaults easily in a single click.

Badger DAO and RenVM announce launch of BTC-to-Ethereum 'Badger Bridge

“The Badger Bridge is the first of its kind to enable users to earn yield on their tokenized Bitcoin immediately, all while transacting within the same app. What used to be an arduous process to obtain yield on your Bitcoin is now just a few short clicks,” according to the blog, posted by Badger team. The blog further says, “With the launch of the Bridge within the Badger App, we have taken a significant step towards realizing the Badger mission of being the one-stop shop for users to put their Bitcoin to work.”

Since June 2020, RenVM’s “wBTC.cafe has been responsible for successfully minting over 25,000 BTC” to Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) conversions. Rebranded Ren bridge users are also incentivized with upward of $6 million in BADGER and synthetic Bitcoin DIGG rewards as a "bridge mining" program.

Whole integration through Ren remarkably removes the RenVM branding for the Bitcoin-to-Ethereum bridge/wrapper, redirecting Ren’s wBTC.cafe website to BadgerDAO’s Badger Bridge page. However, Ren is going to provide the infrastructure for the swaps continuously.

The decision was made in order to streamline the user experience when it comes to wrapping Bitcoin and using it as collateral in the DeFi ecosystem.

The use of a second protocol on the back end bears similarities to Badger’s recent agreement with Yearn.finance to build a WBTC vault. While Yearn strategists developed the vault, Its accession hosted on Badger’s website with a small “Yearn” tag, and the both protocols will split the vault’s fees. It is currently under a guarded launch, with over $9 million in BTC locked on earning an annual percentage of over 125% yield.