Liquid Bitcoin
L-BTC

Liquid Bitcoin

Liquid Bitcoin Logo

L-BTC

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Launch Date
2015-10-12
Block Number
-
Block Reward
-
Last Block Size
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Network H/s
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Liquid Bitcoin Price Converter

Liquid Bitcoin

Liquid Bitcoin Information

Resources

Websites
liquid.netWhitepaper
Block Explorers
blockstream.info
Supported Standards
Industries

Liquid Bitcoin Markets

About Liquid Bitcoin

Liquid Bitcoin (L-BTC) is an asset on Liquid that is verifiably backed 1-to-1 with bitcoin (BTC) on the Bitcoin mainchain. L-BTC can only be issued on Liquid through the peg-in process, and can be redeemed for mainchain BTC through peg-out. It is used to pay for transaction fees for any asset transfers on the Liquid sidechain. Liquid offers fast and confidential Bitcoin transactions, and supports trust-minimized swaps and Bitcoin-style smart contracts. It is used for more efficient arbitrage, reducing front-run risk, and minimizing settlement risk.

L-BTC is special as an asset on Liquid in that it is verifiably backed 1-to-1 with bitcoins (BTC) on the Bitcoin mainchain. L-BTC can only be issued on Liquid through the process of a peg-in, which involves sending BTC on the mainchain to a multisig wallet secured by the Liquid Federation. Bitcoins on the mainchain can be released through the process of a peg-out, which involves destroying the L-BTC on Liquid and sending an equal quantity of mainchain BTC to a mainchain address owned by a single member of the federation. Aside from its uses in trading, L-BTC is also needed to pay for transaction fees for any asset transfers on the Liquid sidechain.

Anyone can issue their own tokens on Liquid. These tokens are known as Issued Assets. Issued Assets can be used for various applications, including stablecoins (e.g. Tether USDt), security tokens, digital collectibles, reward points, and vouchers.

Unlike L-BTC, any obligations with regards to Issued Assets (e.g. redeemability) are the responsibility of the issuer. Although Liquid verifies and enforces the total number of units issued of each asset, users cannot verify the existence or maintenance of any underlying assets.

All Liquid assets share the same base features:

  • Speed: Non-variable, one-minute block times, and two-block transaction finality.
  • Confidentiality: Transaction amounts and asset types are hidden from third parties on the blockchain.
  • Trust-minimized swaps: Exchange any two Liquid assets without the need for an intermediary using the Liquid Swap Tool.
  • Bitcoin-style smart contracts: Support for battle-tested multisig and timelocks.

Liquid is used to:

  • Facilitate faster Bitcoin transactions: Non-variable, one-minute block times with two-block transaction finality.
  • Improve the confidentiality of Bitcoin transactions: Transaction amounts and asset types are not visible to third parties.
  • Issue new assets: Anyone can issue assets on Liquid, including stablecoins, security tokens, and digital collectibles. These assets enjoy the same speed and confidentiality features as Liquid Bitcoin.

Some examples of ways people are using Liquid include:

  • More efficient arbitrage: Faster Bitcoin and stablecoin settlements enable traders to more quickly “close the loop” than their competitors.
  • Reducing front-run risk for large trades: Transaction amounts of large OTC trades are not visible to third parties on the Liquid blockchain, preventing competitors from acting on the information before settlement
  • Minimizing settlement risk: Multiple interoperable assets on the same chain enable simple atomic swaps of one asset for another when conducting large OTC trades.
  • Stablecoin issuance: Tether has issued USDt on the Liquid Network.
  • Financial instruments: The Blockstream Mining Note and the El Salvador Bitcoin Bond are security tokens issued on the Liquid Network.
  • Gaming asset tokenization: Online battle royale game Lightnite and the MMO space strategy game Infinite Fleet have tokenized their in-game items on the Liquid Network.