Merlin Chain
MERLBitcoin-based ZK-Rollup Layer 2 network
Performances
RD Popularity Index
RD Growth Index
| 1h | 24h | 7d | 30d | 60d | 90d |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.21% | 6.98% | 4.02% | 0.08% | 28.39% | 27.68% |
Comparison
Developer
Tokenomics
Unlock Progress
Top Holders
| Address | Token | Quantity | Percentage | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0x7c01...1056 |   MERL | 5,774,843.19 | 0.27% | $181.35K |
| 0x25ab...48d3 | MERL | 199,081.77 | 0.01% | $6.25K |
| 0xbfd6...5a9a | MERL | 7,725.21 | 0% | $242.6 |
Open Markets
| # | Exchange | Pair | Price | +2% depth | -2% depth | Volume (24h) | volume % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HHTXCEX | MERL/USDT | $0.3809 | $2,224 | $7,169 | $6,421,915 | 99.45% |
| 2 | OOKXCEX | MERL/USDT | $0.3798 | $80,006 | $96,854 | $4,818,058 | 74.62% |
| 3 | BBybitCEX | MERL/USDT | $0.381 | $46,428 | $70,242 | $2,912,779 | 45.11% |
| 4 | BBithumbCEX | MERL/KRW | $0.3812 | $60,121 | $17,813 | $1,868,518 | 28.94% |
| 5 | BBitgetCEX | MERL/USDT | $0.3787 | $57,121 | $38,089 | $500,781 | 7.76% |
| 6 | KKuCoinCEX | MERL/USDT | $0.3806 | $5,759 | $8,657 | $190,004 | 2.94% |
| 7 | PPhemexCEX | MERL/USDT | $0.3791 | $5,726 | $5,235 | $57,849 | 0.90% |
| 8 | MERL/BSC-USD | $0.3756 | $198 | $197 | $45,389 | 0.70% | |
| 9 | BBingXCEX | MERL/USDT | $0.379 | $844 | $2,156 | $32,000 | 0.50% |
| 10 | KKrakenCEX | MERL/USD | $0.3781 | $22,066 | $16,833 | $28,138 | 0.44% |
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About Merlin Chain
Merlin Chain is a ZK-rollup Layer 2 on Bitcoin aimed at giving BTC onchain utility: bridging bitcoin into the rollup lets it be lent, traded and put into yield strategies, easing the "hold only" problem. It compresses transactions with ZK proofs and plans a PoS validation layer where BTC and MBTC can be staked. Assets bridged into the rollup sit in a bridge contract, and exits wait out a challenge period.
It also ships chain abstraction and an AI assistant to lower the cost of cross-chain operations, and integrated an M-BTC bridge with Sui to widen asset exits. This year it released Merlin Wizard 0.1, its BTC staking vault sold out in 27 minutes, and the second Prestage phase capped at 20 million MERL. Bitcoin L2s share one problem: bridge trust assumptions and the production maturity of ZK proofs are still being validated, and security has not been tested across a long cycle. Incentives are denominated in MERL, so the token price feeds straight into staking appeal.
Incubated by Bitmap Tech, Merlin Chain launched its mainnet in February 2024 as a ZK-Rollup with Bitcoin data availability, reaching about $3.6 billion in TVL within its first month.
On April 19, 2024, MERL listed on OKX and other exchanges with a 2.1 billion supply; 20% was airdropped to Merlin's Seal participants, making it a landmark BRC-20 ecosystem token.
On June 26, 2025, Merlin completed its Fork 12 upgrade, adopting a zkEVM-optimized sequencer and CDK-Erigon RPC to improve throughput and stability while broadening its validator set.
In November 2025, Merlin upgraded its ZK verification infrastructure again and launched BTC staking, aiming to turn idle Bitcoin into a yield-bearing on-chain asset.
In 2026, Merlin focused on validator expansion and a $50 million second ecosystem fund, targeting 50-60x throughput gains, though TVL and narrative momentum have fallen well below the peak.
In Q2 2026, Merlin Chain advanced a mainnet upgrade to transition to Proof of Staking, supporting BTC/MBTC staking and on-chain governance, while also planning the Fork 12 hard fork to raise transaction throughput 50-60x via recursive ZK proofs and a modular DA layer. On May 27, the team reiterated its technical thesis of zkEVM scalability combined with BitVM-based security.
On staking incentives, Merlin introduced 6-month fixed staking at 45% APR, plus a 7-day limited-time 200% APR campaign for the first 1,000 addresses; about 108 million MERL have been staked in total, locking part of the circulating supply. On July 30, Gala Games' GalaSwap added MERL as a supported asset, and Merlin also integrated with Sui to launch an M-BTC cross-chain bridge.
The concern lies in the release schedule: the Ecosystem (40%) and Community (16.57%) allocations vest linearly over 48 months through 2028, creating persistent sell pressure. On September 2, a CoinMarketCap community article listed MERL among the top five Bitcoin L2 tokens to watch in 2026.
Merlin Chain focused on infrastructure upgrades and decentralization in 2026. On January 20, it ran a mainnet service upgrade lifting the cdk-erigon-rpc component to v2.0.3 for stability and performance, and launched a MERL staking incentive (6-month fixed 45% APR) with about 108M MERL staked.
Merlin integrated with Sui to launch the M-BTC bridge, bringing BTC assets into more DeFi scenarios, and established a $50M phase-2 ecosystem fund to support developers.
Merlin Chain's Future strategy and roadmap: Two technical tracks run in parallel: Fork 12 uses recursive ZK proofs plus a modular data availability layer to lift throughput and reach near-instant finality, while the proof-of-stake upgrade lets MERL and M-BTC take part in staking and on-chain governance. Cross-chain expansion continues beyond the M-BTC bridge to Sui, the $50M second-phase ecosystem fund is being deployed to recruit developers, and M-BTC proof of reserve is verifiable address by address. The team also plans Merlin 2.0, bringing in chain abstraction and AI.
Jeff Yin founded Merlin Chain and is also the founder of Bitmap Tech. He attended Nanjing Foreign Languages School, then a private high school in the United States and won a full scholarship to Bentley University before dropping out in his second year to return to China. He founded the social app Oasis in 2018, moved Bitmap Tech into the bitcoin ecosystem in 2023 with the BRC-420 protocol and the Blue Box collection, and assembled the Merlin Chain team in January 2024.
The team is built on the original Bitmap Tech staff, with engineering and operations roles carried over.
Major architecture decisions stay with the founder.
Yin had more than a decade of internet startup experience before this, and the earlier social app and the later bitcoin ecosystem work form one continuous technical line.
Beyond the founder the team is split into protocol engineering, zero-knowledge research and ecosystem partnership lines, each reporting to him.