Mainnet Bitcoin Comes to Nomic

Today, June 30th, we’re excited to announce the launch of the Bitcoin Upgrade!

For those just tuning in: the Nomic Bitcoin Bridge is bringing Bitcoin to Cosmos, and you can read the initial launch blog post here.

The new Bitcoin features will be available starting July 5th at 18:00 UTC.

Depositing and Withdrawing Bitcoin

Once the Bitcoin Upgrade is activated, you’ll be able to generate a special Bitcoin deposit address from the Nomic web app.

This Bitcoin address is linked to your Nomic account, and any Bitcoin sent to it (before the address expires, and after 4 confirmations) will be issued a proportionate amount of NBTC.

NBTC can then be sent to any other Nomic address.

At any time, you can withdraw your NBTC to any Bitcoin address.

Deposit Fees and Bitcoin Staking Rewards

Bitcoin deposits are still highly experimental!

To discourage large deposits during this experimental phase, the network charges a 20% fee on deposits. This fee rate is temporary and will be decreased toward zero as the software passes third-party security audits.

The deposit fees are paid into a reward pool which is distributed to NOM stakers. BTC rewards for staking will be small at first, but will increase over time as Nomic grows.

Bitcoin Upgrade Timeline

The Bitcoin Upgrade is finalized as of today, and validators are updating their nodes to prepare for the upgrade now.

The new Bitcoin features will activate July 5th at 18:00 UTC, and that’s when you’ll start seeing Bitcoin rewards from the Nomic app.

Some of our most exciting Bitcoin bridge security features (eg. Emergency Disbursals) aren’t included in this release, and will be progressively added over the course of our next few upgrades. These security features will be key differentiators between Nomic and other bridge designs.

Interchain Upgrade Timeline

Our next major upgrade will add support for IBC transfers of NBTC to other Cosmos chains. Until then, there won’t be any NBTC listings.

Nomic Mainnet Upgrade

The final major milestone for the Nomic Bitcoin Bridge is the Mainnet Upgrade.

The Nomic Mainnet Upgrade will come after the Interchain Upgrade, and will include all core Bitcoin security features, transferable NOM, and complete the airdrop distributions.

Conclusion

Thank you all for joining us on this journey!

We’re excited to be a part of the Cosmos and to bring Bitcoin to the ecosystem.

Thank you!

Posted on June 30, 2022   #network     #bitcoin