Seed Round for Bitcoin Infrastructure Builder Bitlight Labs Led by Gate Ventures, the VC Arm of Gate.io

gate venturesthe venture capital arm of Gate.io cryptocurrency exchange, recently raised a seed round for Bitlight Labs, a provider of innovative blockchain solutions leveraging the RGB protocol to transform the Bitcoin ecosystem and bring layer 2 smart contract technology to Bitcoin. I took the lead.

Since Satoshi Nakamoto launched the first node in 2009, Bitcoin has proven to be the most secure decentralized network. As Bitcoin adoption spreads, it now struggles with scalability issues. Lightning Network (LN), a Bitcoin scaling solution capable of up to 1 million transactions per second (TPS), is developed based on the off-chain protocol concept to enable instant Bitcoin transactions. However, support for smart contracts is still limited.

Strengthening Bitcoin while maintaining security

Bitlight Labs centers around the Really Good for Bitcoin (RGB) protocol, providing scalability for layer 2 and 3 solutions while ensuring Bitcoin-level safety and privacy. The RGB protocol supports more complex smart contract functions, allowing users to inspect, execute, and independently verify smart contracts at any time without additional cost.

The basis of the RGB protocol came from Peter Todd’s exploration of single-use sealing and client-side verification. Envisioned by Giacomo Zucco in 2016 as an enhanced asset protocol for Bitcoin and Lightning Network, RGB has been further improved. Maxim Orlovsky has led the implementation of RGB since 2019, transforming RGB from a concept into a comprehensive smart contract system through active community participation.

Bitlight Labs is developing several products leveraging the RGB protocol, including its core product, Bitlight Wallet. Bitlight Wallet is the first non-custodial wallet that follows the LNP/BP Association’s specifications for RGB assets. The wallet is designed to promote compatibility between RGB and Lightning networks, accelerating the growth of the RGB-LN ecosystem.

Kevin Yang, Managing Partner at Gate Ventures, said: “People have criticized Bitcoin’s technological development speed as being too slow. However, there has been a resurgence of innovation in Bitcoin in recent years. “Now is the time to build on Bitcoin.”

He continued, “Bitcoin is a $1 trillion asset, more than all other assets in the cryptocurrency industry combined. With the recent approval of spot ETFs, Bitcoin has the best chance of mass adoption. The value of Bitcoin security can be further leveraged by exploring smart contract capabilities.”

for Gate.io

Founded in 2013, Gate.io is one of the world’s first cryptocurrency exchanges and a leader in compliant and secure digital asset platforms, offering a variety of trading services with 100% user-verifiable proof of reserves. Additionally, the platform is consistently ranked as one of CoinGecko’s top 10 cryptocurrency exchanges based on liquidity and trading volume.

for gate ventures

Gate Ventures, the venture capital arm of Gate.io, focuses on investing in decentralized infrastructure, middleware, and applications that will reshape the world in the digital age. As a long-term investor, Gate Ventures is committed to providing support for portfolio companies’ product development, operational expansion and global growth.