I spend a lot of time talking about “bridging” to L2s on my podcast, so I recently spoke to Amino and Matt from Arch to talk about why it still isn’t time to stop building for Bitcoin DeFi right on Layer 1. Arch uses an entirely new VM inspired by Solana, but tailor-made to Bitcoin needs, including UTXOs and PSBTs. Arch can operate much like a traditional L2 that “bridges” funds for users, but can also allow programmable transactions to execute at the L1 level using Arch smart contracts, giving users a “choose your own adventure” secuirty experience.  Unlike a lot of devs today, Matt and Amino are steering away from using zero-knowledge proofs in their design, which they realized weren’t adding much benefit.  Watch to learn about Arch’s unique multisig based security which my previous guest @januszg called “the best we can do” for trustworthy Bitcoin application layers.  https://x.com/ArchNtwrk  TIMESTAMPS:- 0:33 Arch Network’s roots w/ BTC Startup Lab 4:14 What is Alchemy? The need for a Bitcoin indexer 6:10 Not giving up on Bitcoin’s base layer 7:56 How Arch Works: A New VM for Bitcoin 12:26 Arch’s transition from ZKPs to PSBTs 14:52 Arch’s proof of stake system 17:08 What is Frost? Improving multisigs 20:00 Arch network’s 26 validators 22:11 Roast: peak multi-sig architecture 25:34 Arch’s growing pains: dev education 29:20 Why didn’t Arch take the EVM route? 34:05 Building a Bitcoin L2 from scratch 37:18 Users can choose their trust assumptions 38:28 Arch’s purely organic marketing 40:08 Nearing the conclusion of Bitcoin scaling 41:30 OP_CAT would make things easier for Arch 42:30 What will be the next connective tissue for Bitcoin DeFi? EPISODE SPONSORS:  › This episode is powered by Best In Slot, the leading Bitcoin aggregator providing APIs, live price charts, and on-chain token data. Check them out here: › https://bestinslot.xyz/  LISTEN / SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST: › YouTube:    / @bitcoinrails   › X/Twitter: https://x.com/isabelfoxenduke › Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5uPrBxvD691TpTqjijudkO?si=571634b88d574911 CONNECT WITH ISABEL: › Email: bitcoinrails@gmail.com › LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabel-foxen-duke-87272423/  › X/Twitter: https://x.com/isabelfoxenduke Bitcoin #Ordinals #BRC20 #Runes #BitVM #zkp