OP_NET announces the launch of the DeFi toolkit “SlowFi” directly on Bitcoin, allowing asset trading and swaps using standard transactions with BTC as the only fee, without bridges, wrapped assets, or separate gas tokens. The project aims to bring trading and yield generation to layer-1, accepting slower speeds and higher costs to keep everything on the Bitcoin network.
Co-founder Frederic Fosco stated that applications using Taproot have transaction fees ranging from about $1–$2 under normal conditions and $10–$20 when the network is congested. OP_NET argues that the “SlowFi” model, with a block time of approximately 10 minutes, can create more stable liquidity and longer DeFi cycles.
However, the project has faced criticism from the Bitcoin community for allegedly bringing “Ethereum-style DeFi bloating” to layer-1, diverting from monetary policy goals and causing network congestion.