Hemi Merges Bitcoin’s Security With Ethereum’s Flexibility for DeFi Breakthrough
Hemi Labs, a Bitcoin programmability network, has secured $15 million in funding to accelerate the development and expansion of its ecosystem. The round was led by YZi Labs (formerly Binance Labs), Republic Digital, HyperChain Capital, Breyer Capital, Big Brain Holdings, and Crypto.com, with additional participation from various industry stakeholders. The funding will be used to develop applications for borrowing, lending, and trading on Bitcoin while advancing the Hemi Virtual Machine (hVM), a technology that embeds a Bitcoin node within an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). This allows for the execution of smart contracts on Ethereum while leveraging Bitcoin’s security and resilience [1].
The company highlights that the funds will further enhance the hVM, a modular layer that merges the trust and security of Bitcoin with the flexibility and programmability of Ethereum. This innovation aims to expand Bitcoin’s utility beyond being a store of value, enabling it to support a range of decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. According to Jeff Garzik, co-founder of Hemi and an early Bitcoin developer, “Bitcoin doesn’t need to be reinvented; it just needs the right tools around it.” Garzik emphasizes that Hemi provides a familiar and secure environment for DeFi protocols to build on Bitcoin without compromising security or decentralization [2].
Hemi has experienced significant growth, with more than 100,000 verified users and 400,000 community members. The network has attracted partnerships with major players such as Sushi, LayerZero, MetaMask, and Redstone. The total value locked (TVL) on the network has increased to $1.2 billion, reflecting strong adoption and confidence in the platform [3]. This growth follows Hemi’s mainnet launch in March, which started with $440 million in committed capital [4].
The development of Hemi aligns with a broader trend of Bitcoin DeFi initiatives aiming to leverage Bitcoin’s $2.3 trillion market cap. Competitors such as Lombard and BOB are also working to transform Bitcoin into an active component of DeFi by introducing liquid staking tokens and hybrid chains. Hemi’s unique approach, combining Bitcoin’s security with Ethereum’s programmability, aims to unlock new use cases for the asset, including yield generation and cross-chain composability [5].
The funding round underscores the growing interest in Bitcoin-based infrastructure and the potential for Bitcoin to serve as a foundation for DeFi. Hemi’s co-founders, including Jeff Garzik, Maxwell Sanchez, and Matthew Roszak, bring decades of combined experience in blockchain development and investment. The platform’s technical innovations, such as the Proof-of-Proof (PoP) consensus protocol and cross-chain “Tunnels,” are designed to address the scalability and programmability limitations of Bitcoin, making it a more versatile asset within the DeFi ecosystem [6].
With the continued expansion of its ecosystem, Hemi is preparing for its token generation event (TGE), with further details expected to be announced soon. The platform’s focus on unifying Bitcoin and Ethereum through a smart tunnelling network has attracted support from industry leaders who see Hemi as a foundational infrastructure for the next wave of Bitcoin-native applications [7].
Source: [1] Hemi Labs Raises $15M to Expand Bitcoin Programmability (https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2025/08/27/hemi-labs-raises-usd15m-to-expand-bitcoin-programmability)
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