Exploring Merlin Chain: A Layer 2 Solution for Bitcoin’s Future

• Merlin Chain is a Bitcoin Layer-2 protocol with extra perks of harnessing the zk-Rollup network.
• Merlin Chain plans to enhance the utility of the Bitcoin protocol with the help of its partners and expanding ecosystem.

Introduction

Merlin Chain is a Bitcoin Layer 2 protocol that integrates the ZK-Rollup network, Data Availability, decentralized oracle network, and on-chain BTC fraud-proof modules. Built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain, Merlin Chain acts as a secondary layer designed to address scalability concerns hindering Bitcoin’s wider adoption. 

Merlin says its mission is to “Make Bitcoin Fun Again.” The protocol achieves this mission by harnessing the power of ZK-Rollup technology. This technology enables fast and cheap transactions by processing them off-chain and submitting validity proofs to the Bitcoin blockchain. 

Merlin Chain bridges the gap between the Bitcoin network and external data sources, allowing for the creation of innovative applications that rely on real-world information. These modules ensure data integrity and enable secure dispute resolution. Users can challenge fraudulent transactions, leveraging Bitcoin’s consensus mechanism to maintain network security.

Furthermore, Merlin Chain’s ambition includes the development of an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible chain for Bitcoin. This bridge allows developers familiar with the Ethereum ecosystem to tap into the power of Bitcoin and Ordinals. 

Essentially, Merlin Chain facilitates the use and development of all types of Bitcoin-native assets, expanding the functionality of the Bitcoin network. 

Merlin Chain supports popular Bitcoin protocols such as BRC-20, BRC-420, Bitmap, Atomicals, Pipe, Stamp, and more. With this support, the protocol enables a more extensive user base to interact on Bitcoin Layer 2.

Merlin Chain’s Architecture

The foundation of Merlin Chain is based on Polygon’s ZK technology. This is further enhanced by Lumoz’s decentralized ZK computing power network for ZKP computation and a decentralized Oracle network for data availability via Celestia.

Proof Generation

Just like other Polygon CDK chains, Merlin Chain uses zkProver, a zero-knowledge proof generator, to conduct the proof creation and transaction verification process. The zkProver is where all rules for legitimate transactions are implemented and carried out.

The zkProver performs intricate mathematical computations using polynomials and assembly language and then verifies the results on smart contracts. These guidelines can be seen as restrictions that transactions must follow to change the state tree or remove themselves from it.

In essence, while there are intricate computations that powers each transaction, to the user, Merlin Chain claims it is presenting a trusted protocol. 

Workflow

According to the workflow of Merlin Chain, transactions are gathered and grouped by the ZK L2, after which the zkProver produces evidence. Afterward, Merkle trees, Bitcoin state, transaction raw data, and other data are combined to create a joint proof, which is then connected with the Oracle network.

After this L2 data is received, the Oracle network executes circuit compilation and uploads the compressed data and commitments to the Bitcoin mainnet. Subsequently, it writes them into taproot so that anybody may see them publicly and independently.

Security

The Bitcoin network serves as the ultimate settlement layer for the Merlin Chain network. All original data resides in the Oracle network, with corresponding state roots in the Bitcoin network. Users can utilize the zk-Proofs stored on Bitcoin to confirm the legitimacy of any aggregated transaction by retrieving it from the Merlin Chain at any moment. 

Merlin Chain provides the last confirmation on Bitcoin using a fraud-proof system created especially for ZK proofs. The strong Proof-of-Work (POW) algorithm in Bitcoin facilitates this operation and guarantees the security of the Merlin Chain rollup.

Merlin Chain Achievements

Since its mainnet launch, Merlin Chain has reportedly facilitated over 9 million transactions. Also it hosts more than 70 live projects with a Total Value Locked (TVL) exceeding $4 billion. On February 5, Merlin Chain launched its Launchpad on Particle Network releasing 1% of its governance token MERL. The MERL token operates under the Bitcoin-compatible blockchain standard BRC-20 and has a total supply of 2.1 billion tokens.

Subsequently, on February 8, Merlin’s Seal staking officially went live to launch 20% of MERL. This distribution will be released monthly with a 50%/25%/12.5%/6.25%/3.125%/3.125% ratio, the biggest airdrop for any Layer 2. 

According to current reports, Merlin Seal has reached over $2.8 billion in TVL. Furthermore, the first Merlin Chain Launchpad event ended with over 1 million addresses participating on February 10.

Who Are the Project’s Investors

Jeff, the creator of Merlin Chain, is an accomplished Web2 entrepreneur with a proven track record of venture success. So far, he has raised capital from prestigious organizations such as Sequoia Capital, IDG Capital, 5Y Capital, BAI Capital, Kronos, and Vitalbridge Capital. 

In April, Merlin Chain secured new funding co-led by Hailstone Labs and the Spartan Group, with support from UTXO, Primitive Ventures, Amber Group, Presto Labs, IOBC Ventures, and other notable supporters.

Also, Merlin Chain is well-supported for both security and technical progress, with over 20 investment institutions on board, led by OKX Venture, ABCED, Forsight Ventures, and ArkStream Capital, along with mining pools like viaBTC.

Supported Wallets

Users can claim the MERL tokens they received through airdrops by connecting a digital wallet to the platform. Supported wallets include UniSat Wallet, OKX Wallet, Binance Wallet, Bitget Wallet, Bybit Wallet, Metamask, WalletConnect, and other EVM wallets.

Merlin Chain Protocol

The Merlin Chain L2 is a fully functioning ecosystem that users can start exploring by visiting the homepage. From here, a user can easily access many of the immediate features including claiming MERL and using the “Bridge to Chain” feature that is still in Beta.

Using the Merlin Bridge is simple and is similar to any other Web3 DeFi bridge. However, users have two options for the bridge as they can connect explore the Bridge to Merlin Seal or Bridge to Chain options respectively.

Users can also try out the other features of the Merlin Chain protocol by navigating to their desired areas in a few easy steps.

The Merlin Chain protocol is expanding its ecosystem and it has an actionable roadmap that will see the protocol adopt a fraud-proof prevention mechanism. With our review, Merlin Chain is building the next-generation protocol that aims to combine key features of its competitors with the security of the Bitcoin blockchain.

Join the community: 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MerlinLayer2

Discord: https://discord.gg/merlinchain