Bitcoin Innovators: Build Great Bitcoin Defi & Ordinals Startups Together!

2023 Prediction: The Year of Bitcoin Unicorn Startups

Written by: Albert Liang — CEO at BTC Startup Lab, Dan Von Kohorn — Managing Partner at Broom Ventures, Abdel Harraz — CEO at DeepLake Finance. Contributor references at end of article.

At the time of releasing this, Bitcoin Ordinals just reached the 100K Ordinals inscribed (minted) mark. And if you think Ordinals is a big opportunity, then you are right, but there is an even bigger opportunity right on the other side that will change the landscape of Defi before the next Bitcoin halving.

Who should be reading this? If you either hold Bitcoin or have used Defi on Ethereum or another chain, then this is for you or maybe you are trading NFTs on an EVM chain and have recently realized that Ordinals of the same kind are worth more because it is created natively on Bitcoin. However, everyone who is either part of Web3 or getting involved with Web3 should read this because we are talking about the tectonic shift that will cause the foundation of Defi to shift toward Bitcoin this year.

Specifically, what are you going to get out of this reading?

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Problem = Opportunity

If you own Bitcoin and you have also used Defi on Ethereum or other chains, then you know the Bitcoin problem: limited DeFi use cases. Only 0.3% of the Defi market uses native, non-custodial Bitcoin today. (Source: https://defillama.com/ , 2023 Jan 26)

Contrast this 0.3% market share of Defi market against the ~400 Bn market cap of Bitcoin, comprising 40% of all cryptocurrency value vs Ethereum is 60% market share of Defi market but Ethereum comprises only 20% of all cryptocurrency value . How can this be? Simply put, Bitcoin didn’t have the basic building blocks to create Defi, while Ethereum had this capability starting 2016, a 7 year head start. So the exciting news is that starting just last month (December 2022), we now have all the basic building blocks we need to create an entire ecosystem of non-custodial Bitcoin Defi. I won’t get into the tech stack here, but if you are really curious then feel free to reach out to us! For now, we will focus on the giant opportunities for Bitcoin Defi ripe for the picking in 2023. These non-custodial Bitcoin Defi will be able to finally unlock the $264 Bn of Bitcoin just sitting idle in Bitcoin wallets, according to cryptoslate.com.

This is our opportunity to build together an ecosystem of non-custodial Bitcoin use cases, starting with DeFi! This will help the masses and institutions develop true confidence in Bitcoin and hold it even when the market tanks and centralized institutions go under because they know Bitcoin is used for solid non-custodial DeFi use cases.

A solid DeFi global ecosystem with non-custodial Bitcoin DeFi apps creates a golden opportunity for developers. Once this Bitcoin DeFi backbone is in place, it will enable crypto and Web3 to be adopted by the masses because it enables a universe of Web3 dapps: Essential building blocks which ultimately will form the metaverse for everyone. The “metaverse for everyone” is another super exciting topic, but to stay on point, let’s first focus on building the center of that metaverse which is the non-custodial Bitcoin Defi ecosystem and integrate it with our daily lives.

Opportunity = Bitcoin Unicorn Ideas

Below is a short but growing list of Web3 Bitcoin Unicorn Startup ideas. Combined, they form the foundation of the new non-custodial decentralized financial system and from there will grow many more unicorn startup ideas.

This list was created by Abdel Harraz, CEO of DeepLake Finance, the team behind the first working DLC wallet api on Stacks blockchain, and Dan Von Kohorn, a blockchain developer turned venture capitalist. Dan has the rare combination of being a software engineer, serial entrepreneur, and investor, with 20 years in the finance industry through bull & bear cycles and multiple waves of disruptive technology. Dan sold his most recent company to Chainlink, the largest decentralized oracle network in the world, and is now a Managing Partner at Broom Ventures.

Bitcoin Defi: Market Sizes, Timing, and Capital Requirements

a) Size: A score above 5 is a unicorn sized opportunity. And most likely high scoring categories can sustain several unicorn companies that specialize in different market segments of the category. In most cases, as the market matures, scores under 6 could grow to become unicorn level startup ideas.

b) Timing: A score above 5 means this idea is ready to be built in 2023. As the market matures, scores under 6 will become ripe for the picking. A score below 6, in some cases means that it has dependencies on the other riper projects to be built first.

c) Capital: Estimates the amount of capital needed to make this opportunity a success. Lower scores means less capital is needed. Don’t worry about how much capital is needed because if you are able to show traction and proof of concept on any idea that is ranked over 5 in both Size & Timing, there will be many interested investors, including us.

Contact info at the bottom of this aritcle.
Non-custodial Bitcoin Unicorn Ideas: Market Size + Timing scores over 5 are the startups that entrepreneurs can start building in 2023, before the next Bitcoin halving.

Let me emphasize a few things here.

Firstly, the above list is nowhere near exhaustive, so please chime in if you have any great ideas you would like to build in Bitcoin Defi, Ordinals, or an enabling technology. We have the know-how and the means to support you on your entrepreneurial journey.

Secondly, we have already begun supporting entrepreneurs in the categories of Bitcoin Defi and Ordinals, but we need many, many more entrepreneurs to build all of these great opportunities!

Thirdly, we will support any entrepreneur who is determined to build in any category above. Especially, if the category has a score above five in both market “Size” and “Timing” because these are the Bitcoin unicorn startup ideas ready to be built in 2023!

Why do we believe these are the Bitcoin Defi unicorn ideas for 2023?

Let’s take a look at a few of these idea groups.

Group 1) Derivatives: This group represents many potential unicorn startup ideas. The “Options, perpetuals, and futures” category is ripe for building and contains several unicorn startup ideas. Here’s a quick analysis on why this category alone holds several unicorn level ideas:

Group 2) Credit, Debt, Lending, Borrowing… This group contains a gang of Bitcoin unicorn startup ideas ripe for the building in 2023. And rightly so, because a strong credit and lending ecosystem is one of the foundational building blocks of the traditional financial world and this also holds true for the cryptocurrency Web3 universe!

I could go on with the other groups and categories of non-custodial Bitcoin unicorn startup ideas, but there’s no need because they all follow the same pattern:

Timing: Why Now?

All of the above points show us that the stars have aligned in recent months. This means that for the first time ever non-custodial Bitcoin Defi is possible! So let’s capture this opportunity together in 2023! This first wave of opportunity will be taken this year before the next Bitcoin halving in early 2024! With that said, how do you start building the new backbone of the global decentralized financial system around non-custodial Bitcoin DeFi solutions, products, and services?

Empowerment: How do we enable entrepreneurs to build Bitcoin Unicorn Startups?

Since the next Bitcoin halving is in less than 14 months, we feel a sense of urgency. So we have already begun recruiting and training entrepreneurs who understand this once in a lifetime opportunity of building non-custodial Bitcoin DeFi or Ordinals startups. And to help entrepreneurs do this we offer a unique solution tailored for non-custodial Bitcoin DeFi startups. Here’s a small peek into how we enable entrepreneurs to succeed by providing community, mentorship, resources, tools and methods to build the foundation of an investment ready startup:

1. The science and roadmap of turning an idea into an investment ready startup in Web3 DeFi (Note: The same scientific process can be applied to Ordinals startups.)

2. Making sure the problem you want to solve is big enough to turn into a startup

3. Co-founder matching for both marketers and engineers alike

4. Finding the customers that need to use your product the most

5. Tools and services to help you build your non-custodial Bitcoin DeFi startups

6. Web3 DeFi business modeling & aligning platform and user interesting

7. Designing your network effects into your market domination strategy

8. Creating your Tokenomics and incentive mechanisms to propel your Web3 DeFi flywheel

9. Traction & Community building for your BTC Defi or Ordinals startup

10. Mentorship, Coaching

We’ll show you in just 3 months how to turn a Bitcoin Unicorn Idea into an investment ready startup. It is a transformative process that positions you to capture the next bull run that will come with the next Bitcoin halving happening in about 1 year.

I invite you to check us out! www.btcstartuplab.com We have run 24 cohorts which makes us one of the longest running pre-accelerators in the world. With the previous 3 cohorts being 100% Web3 startups. Our next cohort will be tailored and focused on empowering entrepreneurs to build their teams, marketing, and products for non-custodial Bitcoin Defi and Ordinals startups. To learn more, see below for our contact info.

Connect: How to reach us to build non-custodial Bitcoin Unicorn Startups together?

Collaboration is to our mutual benefit because only through a community effort will we be able to build together the non-custodial native Bitcoin DeFi ecosystem that will become the new foundation of the Web3 decentralized financial system of the world. If you understand how essential Defi and Ordinals use cases are in solidifying Bitcoin’s real utility and value, then contact us on Twitter @btc_albert, @btcstartuplab, or check us out at www.btcstartuplab.com to apply to our startup program and turn your Bitcoin Defi or Ordinals idea into an investment ready startup!

Contributors & Bitcoiners: Trevor Owens — Managing Partner at Stacks Ventures, Jacob Brown — Analyst at Stacks Ventures, Kevin Williams — Analyst at Stacks Ventures, Matt — Tokenomics Resident at Stacks, Xan Ditkoff — Founder Daemon Technologies, Tycho Onnasch — General Manager at Trust Machines, Rick Bartelink — Social Strategist, Tom Giles — Serial Entrepreneur

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I run one of the longest running startup training programs in the world. We help entrepreneurs turn their ideas into investment ready Web3 startups.

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Albert Energy

I run one of the longest running startup training programs in the world. We help entrepreneurs turn their ideas into investment ready Web3 startups.