OpenDelta, a stablecoin linked to Bitcoin, recently raised $2.5 million in funding. This startup is among the first to develop tokenization technology designed for the Bitcoin era.
Let’s see below all the details.
The success of OpenDelta reflects the interest in the Bitcoin stablecoin sector
As anticipated, the company focused on Bitcoin-backed stablecoins, OpenDelta, has raised $2.15 million in a pre-seed funding round led by 6th Man Ventures, as confirmed by CEO Konstantin Wünscher:
“Our goal is to use Bitcoin to generate stable value in a fiat currency.”
OpenDelta is building the foundations of the new decentralized finance (DeFi) leveraging the latest trend of Bitcoin, Runes.
The creator of Runes, Casey Rodarmor, introduced a method to engrave fungible tokens on satoshis, the smallest unit of Bitcoin, during the Bitcoin halving on April 19th.
This new approach has quickly gained popularity, becoming an important tool for Bitcoin transactions, according to a dashboard by Dune created by Crypto Koryo.
The main token of OpenDelta, USDO, will maintain its value anchored to the dollar thanks to Bitcoin (BTC) deposited as collateral by users.
The token will only be available in May and initially will be accessible exclusively through a closed beta for members of the waiting lists. OpenDelta also intends to expand the use of Runes to other levels of Bitcoin.
The product will generate value for its holders through financing rates in derivative markets, maintaining its value in dollars.
To mint USDO, users will need to deposit Bitcoin as collateral in a wallet managed by “institutional-level custodians,” as described in a press release.
OpenDelta is one of the first companies to build the new face of DeFi for Bitcoin in the era of Runes. Wünscher emphasizes that those passionate about Bitcoin may not be in tune with the complexities of Ethereum-based DeFi:
“We have the opportunity to create new experiences on Bitcoin because those involved have not been influenced by anything other than Bitcoin.”
Luke Dashjr criticizes the Runes protocol
Luke Dashjr, one of the developers of Bitcoin core, criticized the Runes protocol, stating that it exploits a fundamental flaw in the design of the Bitcoin blockchain network.
In a post on April 26 on X (formerly Twitter), Dashjr compared ordinal subscriptions and the Runes protocol, explaining how they interact differently with the network.
He emphasized that, while Ordinals exploit vulnerabilities in the blockchain, the Runes protocol operates within the design flaws of the network.
He explained that Ordinals are a “9-vector attack” that exploits the vulnerabilities of Bitcoin Core, while Runes represent “only” a 5-vector attack that, however, follows the “rules”.
Ordinals are a form of digital asset similar to NFTs, engraved on satoshis, the smallest unit of Bitcoin. They have marked Bitcoin’s entry into the world of NFTs, generating interest in the crypto community.
On the other hand, Runes are fungible tokens introduced on the day Bitcoin completed its fourth halving. Since then, they have caused congestion in the network and a surge in transaction fees.
Dashjr, a well-known critic of both types of assets, believes that they deviate from the fundamental principles of Bitcoin and contribute to blockchain spam.
He proposed methods to filter Rune transactions, recommending to set datacarriersize=0 in the bitcoin.conf file for Bitcoin Knots or Bitcoin Core. However, it seems that miners are not following this advice.
The decentralized mining pool Ocean Mining, where Dashjr is CTO, recently mined a post-halving block with over 75% of transactions coming from the Runes protocol, justifying the choice with the profitable revenue streams generated by Runes transactions.