Velar is a DEX launched with the goal of building an entire user-focused ecosystem on the Bitcoin network.
With Velar, veteran Bitcoiners CEO Mithil Thakore and CMO Peter Watson are clearly aiming big. Inclusion and community are main themes alongside streamlining the DeFi experience on the Bitcoin network. The goal is to bring as many people into the Bitcoin ecosystem as possible by showing the world at large that, through Bitcoin, all things are possible.
“I think it's really important that we don't get things twisted right? For most people, Bitcoin is the greatest thing they can ever buy and do nothing with,” says Watson. Of course, he acknowledges that there are so many more possibilities for those interested in building the broader Bitcoin universe.
What Is a Bitcoin Builder?
Normally when people inside the Bitcoin ecosystem speak about ‘builders,’ they’re referring to developers; software engineers who are creating products on the Bitcoin network like decentralized applications (dApps) such as wallets, trading platforms, and beyond. However, as the ecosystem widens and the verticals that Bitcoin operates in expand, so does the definition of a builder.
That knowledge is helping teams like Velar build their roadmap toward greater inclusivity and reach for Bitcoin. As Watson notes, one of the most important types of builders are those that buy, hold, and plan to pass down to their grandchildren in the future. These are the types builders who have been around from Bitcoin’s infancy. These HODLers have existed ever since Satoshi Nakamoto’s seminal whitepaper, patiently stacking sats and slowly building generational wealth. Slowly but surely, they’ve also become the evangelists who have inspired so many others to join the broader community.
That, in turn, has inspired others.
“This is not a short-term plan,” says Watson. “This is not a one-cycle play. This is not a one-year quick thing. This is something that we want to be building for all of eternity.”
Bringing More Builders to Bitcoin
In recent years, NFTs have entered the mainstream zeitgeist, following crypto as a whole. Even more recently, Ordinals have expanded Bitcoin’s reach into multimedia projects as the concept of immutable proof of ownership in the digital world has grown into maturity. This, at its core, is a great opportunity to bring the digital-native world into the Bitcoin community.
Through the explosion in popularity of NFTs and Ordinals multimedia, artists from across the globe have realized the value that Web3 holds, and have begun using their ambition and creative output to make their mark on Bitcoin. Marketplaces like Magic Eden have already seen millions of dollars in NFT value created on the Bitcoin network as artists and those who seek to support them realize the potential of the space. Many of those artists and patrons learned about Bitcoin, and crypto as a whole, from sources other than Bitcoin itself. Many got their start in Ethereum, and many others began by chasing the thrill of memecoins – something that Watson says should not be discounted.
“I believe memecoins bring the users. So if someone really wants a memecoin, they’re going to onboard with a Leather wallet, they're going to come to Velar, they're going to buy it, we've got a new user from the memecoin," says Watson. "But the second reason is, most entrepreneurs and builders who haven't got the technical or technological aspect to build something, they're going to start with the memecoin first, then they're going to get involved with the community, then they're probably going to have an idea, then they're going to meet a dev from the community."
"Next thing, they’re building an actual real [use] case project.”
This gets to the heart of Velar’s focus on inclusivity and community in pursuit of bringing more people to Bitcoin. The definition of a Bitcoin builder will continue to change primarily as awareness of crypto as a tool is spread. The more functions that tool can serve, the more prospective users are turned into avid users, and the deeper their involvement in building the next phase of the broader paradigm becomes.
If Bitcoin’s history proves anything, it’s that sustained growth and proliferation do not happen overnight, nor do they happen linearly. Sources of real, lasting growth – new developers with breakthrough infrastructural ideas, sources of influence that garner mainstream attention, and beyond – often come from outside of the established community to help bolster the existing ecosystem.
