Computing on Bitcoin #81
March 20, 2026 - Week 11
Welcome to a new edition of Computing on Bitcoin News!
The pace of innovation across the Bitcoin ecosystem continues to accelerate, with new ideas, architectures, and discussions shaping what the next generation of Bitcoin-native applications could look like.
Let's dive in.
Willem Schroé explores building a Bitcoin-native financial system, arguing DeFi and L2s are essential. The discussion covers combining approaches like Spiderchains, Lightning, and BitVM to overcome bridge risks and enable scalable finance on Bitcoin.
Building a Financial System on Bitcoin | WILLEM SCHROE
youtube.com/@BitcoinRails
Botanix CEO Willem Schroe is staunchly rejecting the latter — and attempting to solve some of the toughest challenges faced by the L2 and scaling landscapes (e.g. the “honeypot problem” that nearly all other L2s will ultimately face if not addressed).
A new episode from The Defiant explores the race to build Bitcoin DeFi, covering competing models, from wrapped BTC and sidechains to L2s, BitVM, and Bitcoin rollups.
Glock | Jose Storopoli | bitcoin++ exploits edition | Feb 2026 Florianópolis, Brazil
youtube.com/@btcplusplus
Go over the details and the motivation behind Glock (Garbled Lock), a Garbled Circuits BitVM3 style bridge that is being pioneered and implemented by Alpen Labs.
Recorded at ACATE in Florianopolis, Brazil during bitcoin++ exploits edition Feb 2026.
A new episode from The Defiant explores the race to build Bitcoin DeFi, covering competing models, from wrapped BTC and sidechains to L2s, BitVM, and Bitcoin rollups.
The Fight to Win Bitcoin DeFi: Beyond Digital Gold, Ep. 3
youtube.com/@TheDefiant
After interviewing more than a dozen developers working on Bitcoin DeFi—from StarkWare to Babylon, and including Stacks and Bitlayer—we discovered that no one agrees on what Bitcoin DeFi actually is.
BTQ Technologies has deployed the first working implementation of BIP-360 on its Bitcoin Quantum testnet, enabling experimentation with quantum-resistant transaction models. The initiative allows developers and researchers to explore approaches like Pay-to-Merkle-Root (P2MR) to address potential quantum threats to Bitcoin.
crypto.news
🔗
BTQ deploys first working BIP 360 implementation on Bitcoin Quantum Testnet
BTQ’s Bitcoin Quantum Testnet v0.3.0 now supports BIP 360’s Pay-to-Merkle-Root (P2MR) outputs, which remove Taproot’s key path spending and force all UTXOs through hash-based script paths to reduce long-exposure quantum risk.
As the design space around Bitcoin continues to expand, the interplay between research and real-world implementation becomes increasingly critical.
ºnWe’ll continue tracking these developments closely, bringing you the most relevant insights and signals from across the ecosystem.
-The Fairgate Team