Hardest Money meets Fastest Chain: BTC.b is Live on MegaETH
February 9, 2026
6 minutes read
MegaETH mainnet is live, with Bitcoin integrated from day one.
BTC.b is the canonical Bitcoin asset on MegaETH, the first real-time blockchain designed to operate at speeds that rival Web2 platforms like Stripe and Google.
MegaETH chose Lombard as their Bitcoin partner. When the most anticipated blockchain of 2026 needed Bitcoin infrastructure, they chose BTC.b—the permissionless, non-custodial, and decentralized Bitcoin asset, powered by Lombard.
Today, the hardest money meets the fastest chain. Here's what that unlocks.
MegaETH: Built for Real-Time Applications
MegaETH is the world's first real-time blockchain. It delivers performance that matches centralized platforms like Coinbase and Binance while maintaining full EVM compatibility and decentralization. Sub-10ms block times mean transactions confirm instantly. 100,000+ TPS means the network can handle real scale.
This is Web2 speed with Web3 guarantees. Bitcoin needed this kind of execution environment. And MegaETH needed Bitcoin infrastructure that could match their ambition.
Lombard: The Canonical BTC Partner of MegaETH
MegaETH chose Lombard as their canonical Bitcoin partner, making BTC.b the canonical Bitcoin for the MegaETH ecosystem. When you interact with Bitcoin on MegaETH, you're using BTC.b - permissionless Bitcoin designed to integrate across all applications.
MegaETH built their Bitcoin ecosystem using the Lombard SDK, the most complete, deployment-ready Bitcoin infrastructure to launch next-gen Bitcoin products and strategies in weeks.
BTC.b delivers:
- Native — backed 1:1 by native Bitcoin, non-custodial
- Mint BTC.b on MegaETH from native BTC
- Permissionless — anyone can mint from any type of address: exchanges, EOA, hardware wallets, etc
- Institutional-grade Security — 15-institution Security Consortium including OKX, Galaxy, Kraken, Wintermute, verified by Chainlink Proof of Reserve
- Trusted — $380M in circulation across Avalanche, Monad, Katana and Ethereum with deep DeFi integrations
BTC.b maintains a strict 1:1 exchange rate with Bitcoin, making it ideal for trading, active strategies, and applications requiring stable Bitcoin representation. With 6-hour redemptions and zero minting fees, it's built for users who need Bitcoin on high-performance chains without yield mechanisms.
Real-Time Bitcoin DeFi: What You Can Do Today
The infrastructure is live. DeFi deployed at launch. Here's what that enables:
- Trade Bitcoin at CEX Speed: Trade BTC.b with near-instant settlement. The responsiveness matches centralized exchanges because MegaETH is that fast—but it's fully onchain, fully transparent.
- Deploy in DeFi from Day 1: Four protocols are live at launch, all earning 3x Lux multipliers on your activity:
- Aave → Use BTC.b as collateral to borrow or lend for yield
- Avon → Lending markets with competitive rates on BTC.b collateral
- Kumbaya → Provide liquidity in BTC.b/USDm pools
- Prism → Provide liquidity in BTC.b/ETH pools
- Experience DeFi Without Friction: No more waiting minutes for confirmations. Bitcoin on MegaETH operates the way modern finance should: instant, responsive, seamless.
- Move Across Chains Seamlessly: Already hold BTC.b on another chain? Bridge to MegaETH easily via the Rabbithole. New to BTC.b? Mint directly from native Bitcoin on the Lombard App with zero minting fees.
Getting Started is Simple
Get BTC.b on MegaETH:
- Visit the MegaETH Rabbithole → https://rabbithole.megaeth.com/bridge-btc
- Mint BTC.b from native Bitcoin
- Deploy into DeFi protocols like Aave, Avon, Kumbaya & Prism
BTC.b is the canonical Bitcoin on MegaETH.
Incentives
Deploy BTC.b in Aave, Avon or Kumbaya and get rewarded with 3x Lux multipliers on your activity! It's simple: being early to MegaETH means better rewards as liquidity builds and the ecosystem takes off.
The Breakthrough: Speed Meets Permissionless Access
For years, Bitcoin DeFi faced a fundamental constraint: choose speed or choose permissionless infrastructure, but not both. Custodial wrappers offered reasonable performance but required intermediaries. Decentralized alternatives maintained permissionless access but couldn't match centralized speed.
MegaETH and Lombard eliminate that tradeoff:
- Real-time execution means Bitcoin DeFi can match the responsiveness of centralized platforms. Sub-10ms block times and 100,000+ TPS deliver performance that users expect from modern finance.
- Permissionless infrastructure means anyone can participate without gatekeepers. BTC.b provides open access—anyone can mint, anyone can redeem, verified by Chainlink Proof of Reserve.
- Deployment-ready tools mean developers can integrate Bitcoin in weeks, not months. The Lombard SDK makes Bitcoin infrastructure accessible without custom builds or security compromises.
MegaETH choosing BTC.b validates all three. Hardest money. Fastest chain. Built with Lombard infrastructure. This is what onchain Bitcoin finance looks like - and it's live today.
Bitcoin is moving onchain, faster than ever.
"We've always believed Bitcoin needs real-time infrastructure to fulfill its potential. MegaETH proved you can have sub-10ms performance without compromising on decentralization. When they chose to build their Bitcoin layer with Lombard and BTC.b, it confirmed what we're building matters—chains want infrastructure that's both institutional-grade and truly permissionless.” - Jacob Phillips, Co-founder of Lombard
Built in Weeks with the Lombard SDK
MegaETH's Bitcoin integration was built using the Lombard SDK - the most complete, deployment-ready Bitcoin infrastructure toolkit available. What would traditionally take months of custom development was production-ready in weeks.
The Lombard SDK is the first tool within Bitcoin Connect, designed to help chains and protocols launch Bitcoin products that were previously impractical or impossible:
- Plug-in BTC Infrastructure
- Live Playground to test code in real-time and debugging tools
- Institutional-grade Security
- White-glove Builder Support
For chains like MegaETH, the SDK solved a critical need: how to offer a native Bitcoin asset without building custody infrastructure, security protocols, and cross-chain bridges from scratch. The result is institutional-grade Bitcoin infrastructure, production-ready from day 1.
The New Era of Bitcoin Capital Markets
The combination of MegaETH and Lombard creates something entirely new: real-time Bitcoin trading and finance onchain.
- Bitcoin as collateral for high-performance trading, stablecoin borrowing, and structured products.
- Developers building Web2-quality financial apps on a fully permissionless stack.
- Institutions accessing the hardest money with the fastest UX in crypto.
CEXs have long dominated Bitcoin activity, but their liquidity has rarely flowed onchain. With Lombard + MegaETH, we're bridging that gap - creating an experience that looks and feels like a centralized exchange, but with the security and openness of DeFi.
Ready to experience real-time Bitcoin DeFi? Explore MegaETH → https://rabbithole.megaeth.com/bridge-btc
Get BTC.b → app.lombard.finance
Lombard is building Bitcoin infrastructure for the next generation of onchain finance. As MegaETH's primary Bitcoin partner, we're bringing institutional-grade, permissionless Bitcoin to the fastest execution environment in crypto - enabling the capital markets that will unlock Bitcoin's full potential.