Rootstock Expands Strategic Partnerships in Q1…"Strengthening the DeFi Ecosystem"

Bitcoin (BTC) sidechain Rootstock has reportedly entered into several partnerships in the first quarter. Rootstock is the first Bitcoin sidechain that maintains the security and decentralization of the Bitcoin network while adding smart contract functionality.

On the 9th, the virtual asset (cryptocurrency) analysis platform Messari reported that "Rootstock, a major Bitcoin sidechain, has enhanced network functionality through partnerships with several protocols, including LayerZero (ZRO), in the first quarter of this year."

Rootstock's partnerships have focused on bridging and DeFi (Decentralized Finance) solutions. Among them, the most notable partners are the omnichain messaging protocol LayerZero and the cross-chain bridge Stargate. Through this, Rootstock users can utilize bridging functions across more than 20 major blockchains, including Base (BASE), Arbitrum (ARB), Ethereum (ETH), and Solana (SOL).

Additionally, Rootstock has partnered with ▲ stablecoin bridge and swap protocol Mento Finance, ▲ anonymous prediction market platform AnonMarket, ▲ modular protocol Eisen Labs connecting Bitcoin and Ethereum ecosystems, ▲ Ledger Live, an application of the hardware wallet Ledger, and ▲ Web3 automation platform Gelato.

Meanwhile, Rootstock's partnership activities have also been active in the mining sector. The world's largest Bitcoin mining pool Foundry and the world's 6th largest mining pool Spiderpool are the targets. With the participation of these mining pools, Rootstock is evaluated to have significantly enhanced its security and decentralization.

As a result of the partnerships, Rootstock's merged mining participation rate has been significantly increased. According to the Messari report, Rootstock's merged mining participation rate rose from 56.4% in Q4 2024 to 81% in Q1 2025. Messari explained that this is due to the network participation of large Bitcoin mining pools such as Foundry and Spiderpool.

The report also stated that "with the cooperation of Rootstock's core contributors and merged mining partners, transaction fees have decreased by 60%, improving user accessibility," and added that "the Lovell upgrade, which focused on enhancing compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), improving security, and decentralization, is also noteworthy."

Meanwhile, Rootstock plans to introduce a 'speed improvement transaction protocol' in the second half of this year to enhance transaction throughput.