The Botanix team has announced the gradual shutdown of its Bitcoin L2 network and urged users to withdraw their assets by July 9, 2026.
It is with a heavy heart that we announce we are winding down the Botanix network.
This decision is the hardest one we have made in four years, and we want to share the reasoning openly because the people who backed us, built with us, and used what we shipped deserve more than a…
— Botanix 🕷️ (@botanix) June 9, 2026
The team explained that the decision was driven by weak demand for Bitcoin programmability. Developers assessed the market as immature, noting that most DeFi users prefer the wrapped version of the first cryptocurrency on the Ethereum network, while on-chain activity increasingly concentrates on major platforms like Hyperliquid and Robinhood.
According to Botanix, users primarily view Bitcoin as a store of value rather than an asset for high-frequency trading. Consequently, the network's fee income was insufficient to cover infrastructure costs.
After July 9, any remaining assets on the network will be controlled by the validator group Federation. Other funds not withdrawn by the deadline will be irretrievable.
Botanix positioned itself as an EVM-compatible L2 solution for Bitcoin. The mainnet was launched on July 1, 2025, promising to reduce block addition times from 10 minutes to five seconds and to bring DeFi tools into the ecosystem of the first cryptocurrency.
In May 2024, Botanix Labs raised $8.5 million, bringing its total funding to $11.5 million. The round included participation from Polychain Capital, Placeholder Capital, Valor Equity Partners, and ABCDE.
It is worth noting that in the same year, analysts at Galaxy Digital suggested that by 2030, over $47 billion in liquidity could transition to L2 solutions on Bitcoin.