For years, Bitcoin was mostly seen as “digital gold” — a store of value you bought, held, and maybe forgot about. But that’s changing.

Welcome to BTCFi: Bitcoin Decentralized Finance. And according to Ryan Chow, founder of Solv Protocol, this could be the next multi-trillion-dollar movement in crypto.

In a recent interview with crypto.news, Chow shared why he believes BTCFi could eventually outgrow Ethereum’s entire DeFi ecosystem — a bold prediction, but one backed by numbers and vision.

“Ethereum DeFi is amazing for what it’s built. But Bitcoin’s strength is its scale. If even a portion of its $2T market cap starts working instead of just sitting, BTCFi’s potential could easily exceed Ethereum’s,” Chow said.

Solv, which just crossed $2 billion in locked value, offers tools that allow Bitcoin holders to earn yield — much like Lido does for Ethereum. But Chow isn’t stopping there.

He wants BTCFi to be transparent, secure, and built for institutions. That’s why he’s advocating for “proof-of-TVL,” a new transparency standard that shows real, verifiable liquidity on-chain — giving users peace of mind and setting the stage for broader adoption.

“We already integrate tools like Chainlink Proof of Reserve and partner with DeFiLlama for real-time data reporting. We want BTCFi to be trusted,” he said.

And what about ETFs?

Chow sees Bitcoin staking ETFs as a possibility, though it won’t be as simple as Ethereum’s. Since Bitcoin doesn’t support native staking, any ETF would likely be based on third-party liquid staking solutions or DeFi yield strategies.

“Imagine a product where traditional investors get BTC exposure plus yield — that’s powerful. But we’ll need strong safeguards to meet regulatory expectations,” he added.

What’s next?

Solv is continuing to build its infrastructure, attract BTC whales, and position itself as a key player in this new frontier. While the BTCFi space is still small compared to Ethereum, the momentum is picking up — fast.

“Ethereum had a head start, but Bitcoin has a headwind of institutional trust and capital. If we combine those with solid infrastructure, BTCFi could become the biggest chapter in Bitcoin’s story yet,” Chow concluded.

TL;DR: BTCFi is still early, but it’s growing. If Bitcoin DeFi catches on, it could unlock hundreds of billions — and maybe rewrite the rules of crypto finance as we know it.