Key takeaways:
- Okcoin cryptocurrency exchange and Bitcoin smart contract platform have partnered to launch a $165 million Bitcoin Odyssey program to increase the adoption of BTC
- The newly-launched program will seek to invest in projects building on the Bitcoin network
- The capital will go towards teams working on various DeFi and Web3 use cases, including GameFi, NFTs and the metaverse, as well as DAOs
Okcoin and Stacks launch the Bitcoin Odyssey to boost the development of dApps on the Bitcoin network
Okcoin, a leading Chinese cryptocurrency exchange, has announced the launch of the Bitcoin Odyssey – a year-long pledge to invest $165 million in projects building on the Bitcoin network. The massive accelerator program was established in collaboration with Stacks, an open-source network of decentralized apps (dApps) and smart contracts built on Bitcoin, and 20 venture capital firms.
According to Thursday’s blog post, the Bitcoin Odyssey was designed to increase Bitcoin’s standings as viable decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. In order to do so, Okcoin, Stacks, and their partners will seek to invest in Bitcoin-based DeFi projects, working in a variety of DeFi areas, including GameFi and Play-to-Earn gaming, borrowing and lending, NFTs and the metaverse, and a number of blockchain-powered governance systems such as DAOs and CityCoins. An excerpt from the announcement reads:
“Bitcoin Odyssey comes as a response both to the big influx of investors DeFi has seen over 2021 and to the growth of the Stacks ecosystem and other smart contracts solutions built on top of Bitcoin. The narrative is shifting: 2022 is going to be the year of Bitcoin DeFi and the Bitcoin Odyssey will be at the forefront of this dynamic.”
In addition to fresh capital, projects included in the Bitcoin Odyssey campaign will also get access to “hands-on assistance,” which will include legal counseling, marketing and recruiting advisory services, as well as blockchain development advice.
The price of the Stacks platform’s native STX token gained more than 30% on the news of the massive Bitcoin investment program and outperformed all other digital assets in the cryptocurrency top 100. At press time, the token was trading at $1.45, good for $1.86 billion market capitalization.
