The latest staking round, referred to as “Cap-2,” enabled users to deposit staking funds on the Babylon platform for approximately 10 Bitcoin blocks on Tuesday.
Babylon, a Bitcoin staking protocol designed to enhance blockchain security for emerging protocols and decentralized applications, successfully completed its second staking round. The round boosted total deposits to around 24,000 BTC ($1.5 billion), up from a previous total of 1,000 BTC. This “duration-based” staking event, which lasted for 10 Bitcoin blocks, saw a significant influx of new deposits.
The platform’s brief reopening for additional staking saw approximately $1.5 billion in Bitcoin pledged, signaling strong interest in decentralized finance (DeFi) applications built on the 15-year-old Bitcoin blockchain. Previously, DeFi activity had been mostly limited to alternative networks like Ethereum and Solana.
By 20:03 UTC (4:03 p.m. ET), Babylon’s staking dashboard showed that 18,601 BTC had already been staked, with another 5,419 BTC pending in the staking queue. During this period, the cap was lifted for about 10 Bitcoin blocks over an hour and 23 minutes. However, participants were limited to staking a maximum of 500 BTC per transaction, though many transactions could be included in each block.
This round of staking deposits was described as “duration-based,” marking a shift from the first round in August, which had a fixed 1,000 BTC cap and was filled in just over an hour.
Babylon’s mission is to allow proof-of-stake chains to tap into Bitcoin’s vast reserves of capital, making it a significant initiative in the growing effort to bring more utility to the Bitcoin network. While networks like Ethereum have already embraced DeFi applications, Bitcoin has historically seen limited activity in this space.
The Babylon project gained attention earlier this year, raising $70 million in a funding round in May, following an $18 million round in December.
