Merlin Chain
Bitcoin L2 with EVM compatibility. Largest TVL among Bitcoin L2s (early 2026, ~$1.7 billion in locked assets, 150+ dApps deployed).
Architecture
- ZK rollup posting state commitments to Bitcoin.
- EVM execution.
- Federation peg for BTC bridging.
- Native token: MERL.
Ecosystem
- DeFi: lending, AMMs, stable coins.
- Inscriptions / Ordinals integrations.
- Cross-chain bridges to Ethereum L2s.
Position
The "leading TVL" Bitcoin L2 in 2025-2026, though TVL is partly inflated by yield-farming incentives. Critique: heavy reliance on federation for now, slower path to trust-minimization.
Use cases
- BTC yield products.
- EVM dApps with Bitcoin-themed user base.
- Cross-chain liquidity hubs.
Limitations
- Federation trust — large concern given size of TVL.
- TVL likely inflated by mercenary yield-farming users.
- Centralization concerns common to early L2s.