Marathon Digital Holdings (NASDAQ:MARA) has integrated its multi-chain layer-2 network, Anduro, with the decentralized exchange network Portal to Bitcoin. This integration aims to enhance the utility of the Bitcoin network by enabling atomic swaps, which allow for peer-to-peer transactions of cryptocurrencies across different blockchains.
Marathon, a publicly-traded bitcoin miner, began incubating Anduro in February, describing it as “a platform built on the Bitcoin network that allows for the creation of multiple sidechains.” The integration with the San Francisco-based fintech provider and subsequent renaming to Portal to Bitcoin was announced in an email shared with CoinDesk on Wednesday.
Previously known as Portal, the company raised $34 million in a seed round in March. It leverages the Bitcoin layer-2 network Lightning to facilitate atomic swaps, enabling users to convert assets like Ethereum (ETH) into Bitcoin (BTC).
This development brings greater utility to Bitcoin, a feature common among Ethereum-based assets and other blockchains but relatively new to Bitcoin. Anduro’s integration with Portal to Bitcoin may also offer new revenue streams for miners. By using merge-mining, participating miners can earn Bitcoin-denominated revenue from transactions on these sidechains while continuing to mine Bitcoin on the base layer.
“Integrating Portal to Bitcoin enhances the utility of Bitcoin and presents new opportunities for revenue generation for miners,” said a Marathon spokesperson.
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