Bitcoin Layer 2 Bitlayer raises additional $5 million in oversubscribed public token rounds on decentralized crowdfunding platforms

Bitcoin infrastructure startup Bitlayer has raised $5 million through three oversubscribed token rounds, the team announced on Wednesday. According to a statement, Bitlayer raised the capital from thousands of investors across crowdfunding platforms like CoinList and Echo.

“Overwhelming demand caused a complete sell-out within the limited window on CoinList, drawing in over 6,300 verified investors and exceeding subscription targets by 50%,” the team wrote in its statement. 

Notably, the CoinList sale of native BTR tokens secured over $4 million worth of commitments while a community offering on Holdstation closed out within 28 seconds. Bitlayer refers to itself as the “first U.S.-accessible token offering from any Bitcoin project,” a move that harkens back to the days of initial coin offerings.

Founded in October 2023, Bitlayer Labs is building a Bitcoin Layer 2 network based on the Bitcoin Virtual Machine (BitVM) system that is looking to expand application programmability while tapping into Bitcoin’s security. Bitlayer launched its mainnet V1 in early 2024 and its “trust-minimized” BitVM Bridge this past July.

The fresh capital will go towards expanding Bitlayer's operational expansion, team growth, and ecosystem development. According to co-founder Charlie Hu, the project has already released integrations with blockchains like Arbitrum, Base, Cardano, and Sui. The team hopes to release V2 of its mainnet later this year.

Bitlayer has previously raised a $5 million seed round in March 2024 and a $20 million Series A led by Framework Ventures and ABCDE Capital. The latest round brings its total funding to $29.91 million across private and public rounds.