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Babylon’s Bitcoin staking protocol made waves again on Tuesday, collecting a jaw-dropping 23,000 BTC during its second staking round, dubbed Cap-2. This haul easily dwarfed the first staking round and, unlike that chaotic first attempt, this time it went down smooth. No wild Bitcoin fee spikes, no congestion madness. Just clean, straightforward staking.

David Tse, co-founder of Babylon and professor at Stanford, sounded upbeat about the results in an interview with Decrypt, calling the round a “pretty good” success. Users staked about $1.4 billion worth of BTC, which even he admitted exceeded expectations. This protocol, just six weeks old, continues to shake up the crypto scene by constructing a marketplace anchored in Bitcoin reserves.

Building Babylon’s Foundation for Stakers and Rollups

Babylon’s architecture isn’t some off-the-shelf crypto play. It’s more like a two-way street. On one end, stakers can park their Bitcoin, expecting future rewards. On the flip side, proof-of-stake networks can lock up that capital to strengthen their security. Babylon’s next step? Linking with rollups and networks. Ethereum and Solana might just get a slice of that juicy Bitcoin pie.

Cap-2 was Babylon’s second crack at staking, and they did their homework. The first round, back in August, had set some tough conditions—limiting staking to 1,000 BTC, sending fees skyrocketing to $132 per transaction. Everyone wanted in, and they paid a premium for speed. But this time, the devs flipped the script.

Updated Staking Rules Keep Fees in Check

Babylon rolled out new staking parameters that made things a lot easier for everyone involved. Instead of a rigid cap on how much Bitcoin could be staked, they shifted to a duration-based system. This time around, users could stake as much Bitcoin as they wanted during a 10-block window, though there was a 500 BTC limit per transaction. This change kept transaction fees in check, capping the median at a mere $2.37. A far cry from the $132 panic prices of the first round.

This smoother experience had people like Luxor Mining’s Nick Hansen chiming in. He explained that in the first round, with limited space, everyone raced to get in, driving up fees. Babylon’s tweaks, though, have widened the door and made staking more accessible.

Babylon Chain: The Next Frontier

Babylon isn’t just settling for staking. Tse revealed that they’re working on their own proof-of-stake network, Babylon Chain. This layer would become a key player in securing other chains, allowing them to tap into Bitcoin’s locked capital. While the project is still in the early innings, the vision is clear: Babylon’s got big plans, and it’s bringing Bitcoin along for the ride.