What Merlin Chain does

Merlin Chain is a Bitcoin Layer 2 platform founded in January 2024 in Singapore by Jeff Yin, originating from Bitmap Technology. The platform combines a ZK-Rollup network with a decentralized oracle network, Data Availability layer, and on-chain BTC fraud-proof modules to deliver an EVM-compatible execution environment that supports native Bitcoin asset standards including BRC-20, BRC-420, Bitmap, Atomicals, Pipe, and Stamp. Its stated objective is to convert idle BTC (over 14 million BTC per its own data) into productive yield-generating assets through Layer 2 staking, lending, and DeFi participation.

The product surface spans six primary offerings: Merlin Chain (core L2), Merlin Bridge (official cross-chain bridge for BTC, BRC-20 tokens, and NFTs), MerlinSwap (native DEX), Merlin's Seal (a concluded staking rewards event that allocated 20% of MERL supply to early stakers), M-Token (Layer 1-to-Layer 2 staking certificates), Merlin Phantom (a BTC asset exchange protocol co-developed with UniCross), and Merlin Wizard (an AI assistant launched in March 2025, now at v0.3 with on-chain action execution). Distribution is fully self-serve via the merlinchain.io website, complemented by integrations with six third-party bridges (UniCross, Meson, FreeLayer2, Orbiter, Owlto, Chaineye) and wallet connectors (MetaMask, OKX Wallet, UniSat, XVerse, Particle AA Wallet).

Revenue is generated solely through transaction gas fees paid in Merlin_BTC, the native gas token — 0.003 BTC for Bitcoin L1 to Merlin Chain bridging and 0.00002 BTC for the reverse direction. The company has raised two undisclosed rounds in 2024, totaling investor participation from at least 24 institutions including Foresight Ventures, OKX Ventures, Spartan Group, Hailstone Labs, Amber Group, Presto Labs, and IOBC Ventures. Customer segments are crypto-native BTC holders seeking yield, Bitcoin ecosystem developers, and institutional crypto investors; the go-to-market motion is product-led and community-led through Discord, developer documentation, and ecosystem incentives.

Name

Merlin Chain

Legal name

Merlin Chain

Website

https://merlinchain.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Merlin Chain is a Singapore-based Bitcoin Layer 2 platform that uses ZK-Rollup technology and EVM compatibility to enable low-fee BTC staking, DeFi, and cross-chain asset transfers, serving crypto-native BTC holders, Bitcoin ecosystem developers, and institutional crypto investors through its bridge, DEX, and AI assistant products.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Bitcoin Layer 2 Blockchain Infrastructure

NAICS

Securities and Commodity Exchanges (5232), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)

SIC

Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211), Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200)

akta.pro primary industry

MEV, Sequencing & Transaction Supply Chain (builders, searchers, PBS, auctions) (FSAPAAAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Interoperability for Payments (Cross-Chain/Layer-2 Payment Rails) (FSADAIAO), Cross-Chain Bridging & Interoperability for Stablecoins (FSADADAH), Cross-Chain DEXs & Bridge-Integrated Trading (FSADABAD)

Keywords

• Bitcoin Layer 2
• ZK-Rollup scaling
• Bitcoin DeFi
• Cross-chain bridge
• Blockchain infrastructure

Headquarters

HQ city

Singapore

HQ country

Singapore

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Transaction/Gas Fees: Merlin Chain generates revenue through transaction fees paid in Merlin_BTC (native BTC on Merlin Chain). Users pay gas for transactions including bridging operations (BTC to Merlin: 0.003 BTC; Merlin to BTC: 0.00002 BTC) and other on-chain activities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Merlin Chain is a Bitcoin Layer 2 blockchain platform that integrates ZK-Rollup, decentralized oracle network, Data Availability, and on-chain BTC fraud-proof modules to scale Bitcoin and enable DeFi (BTCFi) activities. It supports native Bitcoin assets and protocols (BRC-20, BRC-420, Bitmap, Atomicals, Pipe, Stamp), offers EVM compatibility for smart contract deployment, and provides a cross-chain bridge, native DEX, staking program, and AI Agent for ecosystem interaction. The platform addresses Bitcoin's capital inefficiency by enabling idle BTC to participate in yield-generating activities on Layer 2.

Product overview

Merlin Chain is a Bitcoin Layer 2 platform that provides a comprehensive ecosystem for Bitcoin DeFi (BTCFi). The core platform (Merlin Chain) offers ZK-Rollup-based scaling with EVM compatibility, supporting native Bitcoin assets and protocols. The ecosystem includes: Merlin Bridge for cross-chain asset transfers; MerlinSwap for decentralized trading; Merlin Wizard (AI Agent v0.3) for intelligent assistance and on-chain actions; Merlin's Seal for staking rewards; M-Token as staking certificates enabling Layer 2 DeFi participation; and Merlin Phantom for BTC asset exchanges. Additional components include Merlin_BTC (gas token), Particle AA Wallet for account abstraction, and support for various BTC protocols (BRC20, BRC420, Bitmap, Atomicals, Pipe, Stamp).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Merlin Wizard: An AI assistant/agent for Merlin Chain that provides smart blockchain interaction, real-time on-chain data access, and natural language command capabilities for on-chain actions like swaps and transfers.
• Merlin's Seal
• Merlin Bridge
• MerlinSwap
• Merlin Phantom
• M-Token

Products and services

• Merlin Chain (Core Platform) Bitcoin Layer 2 solution integrating ZK-Rollup, decentralized oracle network, Data Availability, and on-chain BTC fraud-proof modules. EVM-compatible chain enabling low fees, high scalability, and support for native Bitcoin assets and protocols including BRC-20, BRC-420, Bitmap, Atomicals, Pipe, and Stamp.
• Merlin Bridge Official cross-chain bridge enabling bidirectional asset transfers between Bitcoin Layer 1 and Merlin Chain. Supports BTC, BRC-20 tokens (Ordi, Sats, Rats, Voya, BitMap), and various NFTs including BlueBox, Dragon Ball, NodeMonkes.
• Merlin Wizard AI-powered virtual assistant for the Merlin Chain ecosystem providing natural language interactions for onboarding assistance, technical support, developer guidance, on-chain data queries, and execution of on-chain actions including swaps and transfers.
• MerlinSwap Native decentralized exchange on Merlin Chain supporting token swaps, liquidity provision, and farming with pairs including MERL/Bitmap tokens and BTC/RUFI. Users can trade tokens and use MERL as gas for transactions.
• Merlin Phantom BTC asset exchange protocol supporting seamless interchange of RUNES, BRC-20, BRC-420, and Ordinals NFTs. Jointly developed with UniCross, enabling asset conversion (e.g., Bitmap to THE·BITMAP·TOKEN at 1:10,000 ratio) for enhanced liquidity.

Quantifiable outcome

• Merlin's Seal staking event allocated 20% of total MERL supply for early user rewards - highest proportion among Layer 2 projects

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration16 records

AI capability5 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• UniCrosscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniCross and Merlin Chain jointly developed Merlin Phantom, the first BTC asset exchange protocol supporting seamless interchange of RUNES, BRC-20, BRC-420, and Ordinals NFTs. UniCross also provides bridge functionality for Runes and BRC-20 tokens.
• Particle NetworkcoreTechnology or IntegrationMerlin Chain collaborated with Particle Network to provide Account Abstraction (AA) wallets that simplify bridging operations. Particle Network's SDK generates EVM Contract Maps corresponding to Layer 1 addresses, enabling users to interact with Merlin Chain using their BTC wallets.
• MerlinSwapcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMerlinSwap is the native DEX on Merlin Chain where users can provide liquidity, trade tokens, and earn additional incentives. M-Token holders can use the platform for trading and farming.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bitlayer: Bitcoin Layer 2 using ZK-Rollup with EVM compatibility and a similar focus on bringing BTC assets and protocols into a programmable environment — the closest direct competitor to Merlin's architecture.
• Babylon: Bitcoin staking protocol and L2 ecosystem partner that enables BTC to be used for security and yield across L2s; competes with Merlin for BTCFi-native capital and is integrated into Merlin's yield stack.
• Stacks: Long-standing Bitcoin L2 focused on smart contracts and BTC-anchored assets via Proof-of-Transfer; competes directly for Bitcoin-native developer mindshare and user capital.
• Rootstock (RSK): EVM-compatible Bitcoin L2 with merged mining to Bitcoin, one of the earliest BTC L2s offering smart contracts; competes for the same EVM-on-BTC developer audience.
• BOB (Build on Bitcoin): Bitcoin L2 combining EVM and Bitcoin programmability with native BTC support; targets a similar BTCFi developer and user audience with bridging and DeFi primitives.
• Botanix: EVM-equivalent Bitcoin L2 using a spiderchain PoC consensus; comparable positioning to Merlin on EVM compatibility for Bitcoin, with similar early-stage traction.
• Citrea: Bitcoin ZK-Rollup focused on programmability and BTC-anchored assets; competes head-to-head with Merlin on the ZK-rollup-on-Bitcoin narrative.
• Alpen Labs (Strata): Bitcoin L2 (Strata) using ZK proofs for programmability and BTCFi; pursues a similar BTC-native programmability thesis with comparable technical architecture.

Broad incumbents

• Lightning Network: The dominant incumbent Bitcoin L2 for payments; broader scope (payments rather than general-purpose DeFi) but addresses the same Bitcoin scalability problem.
• Polygon: Established EVM-compatible L2/sidechain infrastructure provider; comparable to Merlin on EVM compatibility and ZK-rollup technology but serves Ethereum rather than Bitcoin.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/MerlinLayer2

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors25 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Merlin Chain