In this week’s edition of Move the Mic, we sat down with the team behind Echo Protocol, a pioneering project that’s building the future of Bitcoin utility within the Aptos ecosystem.
Echo is a Bitcoin liquidity aggregation and yield infrastructure layer designed to address the fragmentation of BTC liquidity across its various forms from native BTC to wrapped and staked versions. Their mission is clear: to simplify Bitcoin integration into DeFi and unlock its full earning potential through innovative and secure yield strategies.
Let’s dive into how Echo is shaping the future of BTCfi and what this means for the broader DeFi landscape.
Neşe: Can you tell us about your project and its main objectives within the Aptos ecosystem.
Echo Protocol: Echo is a Bitcoin liquidity aggregation and yield infrastructure layer designed to address the fragmentation of BTC liquidity across various forms (such as native BTC, BTC LSTs, and wrapped BTC). Our mission is to simplify Bitcoin integration into DeFi and unlock its full earning potential through innovative yield strategies.
Built on MoveVM, Echo positions Aptos as a foundational partner in this vision. With the introduction of aBTC, our unified BTC asset on Aptos, users can tap into yield opportunities directly within the Aptos ecosystem. From lending and staking to broader DeFi applications, we empower users to grow their BTC without needing to bridge out. Our primary goals are to solve BTC liquidity fragmentation and enable users — especially within Aptos — to put their BTC to work more efficiently and securely.
Neşe: How would you explain BTCfi to someone who has never heard of it before?
Echo Protocol: BTCfi refers to DeFi products that bring utility and yield opportunities to Bitcoin holders. Traditionally, Bitcoin has been a passive asset, mostly held in wallets or cold storage. BTCFi changes that by allowing BTC to be used in DeFi applications like lending, staking, and yield farming, all without giving up ownership.
Think of BTCfi as a way to make your Bitcoin work for you: instead of just holding BTC, you can now earn with it, just like ETH in DeFi. It’s about unlocking the financial potential of BTC, especially on ecosystems like Aptos, through protocols like Echo.
Neşe: What’s one thing about your project that you think would surprise people who aren’t familiar with it?
Echo Protocol: How easy it is to use. While BTCfi can sound complex — especially to users new to DeFi — we’ve built Echo to be intuitive and beginner-friendly. All it takes is connecting your wallet and depositing your BTC (whether it’s wBTC, fBTC, or other supported forms) into one of our vaults. You don’t need to navigate complex DeFi flows or have prior experience. Even users just starting out in crypto can begin earning yield on their Bitcoin in just a few clicks. The low barrier to entry is something most people don’t expect when they first hear about a BTC-focused DeFi platform.
Neşe: If your project were an animal, what would it be and why?
Echo Protocol: We’d be a cat, just like our official mascot called Echo Neko. Like a cat, Echo is agile, efficient, and quietly powerful. Echo Neko embodies the spirit of Echo: approachable yet smart, playful yet strategic.
Neşe: What’s the funniest or most unexpected thing that’s happened during your development process?
Echo Protocol: During our development process, one of the most unexpected things that stood out to us was the constant emergence of new BTC-backed assets. It seemed like everyone was trying to launch their own version of BTC, often with the same underlying security and technology, but without offering any real innovation. It felt like people were jumping on the BTC bandwagon just for the sake of it, without thinking about the user experience. This realization played a big role in shaping our product — pushing us to simplify BTCFi for users by cutting through the noise and eliminating the need to navigate a confusing array of nearly identical BTC assets.
Neşe: As BTC liquidity grows on Aptos through Echo, how do you envision your role in shaping the future of DeFi on the network?
Echo Protocol: Echo aims to be a foundational pillar of BTCfi on Aptos. By aggregating and activating Bitcoin liquidity across native BTC, LSTs, and wrapped variants, we are not just enabling access to yield, we are unlocking a new layer of capital efficiency for the entire ecosystem. As more BTC flows into Aptos through Echo, we envision our protocol serving as the bridge that connects Bitcoin’s value with Aptos’ high-performance DeFi infrastructure.
Our role goes beyond liquidity provision. We are helping define new BTC-native use cases: restaking, yield strategies, collateralisation, and more. By integrating with other DeFi protocols on Aptos, we’re turning passive BTC into an active contributor to the network’s growth. In short, we’re not just bringing BTC to Aptos, we’re making it productive, composable, and indispensable within Aptos DeFi.
Neşe: What is your future plans?
Echo Protocol: For one, our TGE is coming up very soon and the community can expect a new chapter of engagement, governance, and growth for Echo. We’re incredibly excited about this as it marks the beginning of a more decentralised future for the protocol.
On the product front, we’re actively exploring the launch of structured BTCfi products that are designed to offer users optimised risk-adjusted yield strategies with simple user experiences. Think of them as curated strategies for different risk appetites, built on top of the BTC liquidity layer we’ve established.
We’re also focused on deepening integrations with Aptos-native dApps, expanding vault offerings, and exploring cross-chain BTC use cases to scale Echo’s impact beyond Aptos.
Want to learn more about Echo?
Check out their Twitter for the latest updates and announcements: https://x.com/EchoProtocol_
Big thanks to Echo for stepping up to the mic and giving us a look behind the scenes.
As BTC liquidity deepens on Aptos, Echo is definitely one to watch.
Got a project you’d love to hear from? Let us know, and see you in the next Move the Mic!