In a significant development in the cryptocurrency landscape, Marathon Digital Holdings’ (MARA) layer-2 chain, Anduro, has incorporated the decentralized exchange (DEX) network Portal to Bitcoin – formerly known as Portal. This integration aims to enhance the utility of the world’s oldest blockchain network, Bitcoin.
Anduro: Fostering Bitcoin’s Ecosystem
Anduro, incubated by the publicly-traded Marathon, is a multi-chain layer-2 network built on the Bitcoin network. Its primary goal is to enable the creation of multiple sidechains, expanding the capabilities and use cases of the Bitcoin blockchain.
Portal to Bitcoin: Enabling Atomic Swaps
The integration with the San Francisco-based fintech provider DEX network, Portal to Bitcoin, coincides with a renaming of the project. This partnership allows users to convert assets, such as Ethereum (ETH), into Bitcoin (BTC) through the use of atomic swaps – a peer-to-peer transaction mechanism that enables the exchange of cryptocurrencies across different blockchains.
“Such practice is commonplace between Ethereum-based assets and on other blockchains, but is a far more recent development on Bitcoin.”
Expanding Bitcoin’s Utility and Revenue Streams
The integration of Portal to Bitcoin with Anduro not only introduces greater utility to the Bitcoin network but also presents an opportunity for further revenue streams for miners. Anduro’s sidechains utilize a process called merge-mining, whereby participating miners can earn Bitcoin-denominated revenue from transactions that occur on these chains while continuing to mine Bitcoin on the base-layer.
Conclusion
This strategic move by Marathon Digital Holdings demonstrates their commitment to fostering the growth and development of the Bitcoin ecosystem. By integrating Portal to Bitcoin with Anduro, they are expanding the utility of the world’s oldest blockchain network and potentially creating new revenue streams for miners – a win-win scenario for the broader cryptocurrency community.
