Welcome to The Gwart Show! Today, Willem from Botanix Labs joins us to discuss their pioneering "spider chain" approach for Bitcoin's second layer. Unlike traditional rollups, Botanix creates a decentralized network of multi-sig validators to bring EVM capabilities to Bitcoin while maintaining censorship resistance. Willem explains why decentralization matters for DeFi applications, how their validator system works with Bitcoin staking, and why they've chosen a different path than rollups. With mainnet launch planned for Q2, Botanix aims to enable Bitcoin holders to use their BTC in familiar DeFi applications without sacrificing security.

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Notes:- Spider chains prioritize decentralization over speed- Botanix launching mainnet in Q2 2025- Initial 15 validators expanding to hundreds- Block time is 5 seconds with ~$0.01 fees- Uses Bitcoin as gas fee, no separate token- Validators will stake 3-5 BTC as bond

Timestamps:00:00 Start00:21 Intro01:04 Spiderchain02:20 Proof of stake on layer 206:14 Risk vs reward08:02 Spiderchain vs rollup14:55 BitVM16:42 ZK tech20:34 Data availability w/ Spierchains21:25 Data on Bitcoin chain22:13 Alt DA24:23 Updates on Botanix26:47 Wen token?28:00 Primary users?30:27 Block interval30:50 Decentralization design limits32:55 Fees33:43 Porting ETH apps to Botanix34:52 Bitcoin staking36:34 EVM wallet compatibility37:28 Place in L2 ecosystem39:35 Functional BitVM rollup?40:32 Changes to BTC41:16 L2 protocol consensus?42:17 Social consensus in BTC45:49 Ordinals & Runes

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