The Core Foundation, the entity committed to growing Core’s leading BTCfi ecosystem, has announced the addition of Solv to its validator set, a significant step in enhancing the security and decentralization of the Core blockchain ecosystem. The move comes as the network continues to expand its footprint in the Bitcoin staking and BTCfi space.
Validators on the Core blockchain play a crucial role in maintaining the integrity of the network. They validate transactions, produce new blocks, and ensure that the blockchain adheres to its rules and protocols. Solv, the leading Bitcoin Staking Platform, will now help safeguard the Core ecosystem. Their election as validators underscores Core’s commitment to building a robust and secure network.
This addition comes as Solv has recently announced that it has successfully raised $11 million at $200 Valuation, bringing its total funding to $25 million. The new capital will fuel the expansion of their Staking Abstraction Layer (SAL), advocating to drive mass adoption of Bitcoin Staking. The round included Nomura subsidiary Laser Digital, Blockchain Capita, OKX Ventures, and Core Ventures, the strategic venture arm of the Core blockchain. Solv Protocol’s SolvBTC product has more than 20,000 BTC staked ($1.3 billion) deployed across 10 major blockchain networks. More recently in early October, Core and Solv joined forces to launch SolvBTC.CORE, a Liquid Staking Token for Bitcoin, where 500 SolvBTC were staked to SolvBTC.CORE in under 2 hours. Contributing to this traction is Core Ignition Drop, an incentive platform where participants can further enhance their yields through DeFi activities.
“At Solv, we are thrilled to join forces with Core as a validator and to contribute to securing the next wave of Bitcoin innovation. With SolvBTC.CORE, we enable users to stake their Bitcoin and earn real yields, while keeping full liquidity and tap into DeFi applications. Our Staking Abstraction Layer (SAL) simplifies and standardizes Bitcoin staking. SolvBTC.CORE is one of the first products introduced within the SAL framework, serving as a testament to our mission of making Bitcoin staking more accessible to everyone,” said Ryan Chow, Co-founder & CEO of Solv Protocol.
Core’s unique approach to security combines Bitcoin’s mining power with an Ethereum-compatible blockchain infrastructure. Around 55% of Bitcoin’s mining hash power contributes to securing Core, which operates using the Satoshi Plus consensus mechanism—an innovative model that merges Delegated Proof of Work (DPoW) with Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS). This allows Core to benefit from Bitcoin’s established security while supporting smart contract execution and decentralized applications.
The validators’ role goes beyond just security. Through an epoch-based election cycle, validators like Solv are elected based on the Bitcoin and CORE tokens staked in their favor, as well as the Bitcoin hash power delegated to them. Validators are rewarded for their efforts and share these rewards with delegators who stake CORE tokens or contribute hash power.
With the addition of Solv, Core aims to further decentralize its network while increasing the trust and stability of the blockchain. As Core continues to grow, these collaborations highlight the increasing confidence in the network’s security model, attracting both institutional and individual participants.
Core launched Non Custodial Bitcoin staking in April 2024, allowing users to earn a risk-free return by locking their Bitcoin in time-locked contracts, without giving up custody. This product has seen significant adoption, with nearly 5,000 Bitcoin staked, as it provides an opportunity for Bitcoin holders to generate yield without additional risks. Furthermore, the BTCfi ecosystem on Core is already growing, with over 400 million dollars in TVL and more than 80,000 daily active users. Core’s ecosystem supports DeFi applications, staking, payments, gaming, NFTs and more, all built on Bitcoin’s secure foundation.
This latest development marks an important milestone for Core as it seeks to strengthen its position as a Bitcoin-aligned, secure blockchain platform.
About Core
Core serves as the Proof of Stake layer for Bitcoin as the first enabler of Self-Custodial Bitcoin Staking, which secures a fully EVM-compatible BTCfi ecosystem. Since April 2024, over 6,000 BTC valued at more than $394 million have been staked with Core, enhancing Bitcoin’s utility and security.
Core is the most Bitcoin-aligned EVM blockchain with ~55% of Bitcoin mining hash power contributing to the network’s security. This breakthrough has amassed millions of Core adopters – over 22.5M unique addresses, 292M+ transactions, and over 444M TVL since its mainnet launch in January 2023.
