Bitcoin NFTs, layer-2 and restaking hype ‘completely gone’

A Bitcoin layer-2 executive explained how Bitcoin narratives that were “overhyped” have now wholly vanished while the ecosystem develops.

In a Cointelegraph interview, Bitlayer co-founder Charlie Hu laid out three Bitcoin narratives that he believed were overhyped. This included narratives that surrounded Ordinals, layer-2s and re-staking.

According to Hu, one of the overhyped narratives in Bitcoin was non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The executive told Cointelegraph that while inscriptions may have gone “to the moon,” Hu said the era is “completely gone.”

CryptoSlam data shows that in the first quarter of 2024, Bitcoin NFTs had a volume of $1.4 billion. In 2025 Q1, the volume is only at $280 million, showing an 80% drop. The executive believes that the 1,000x days of Bitcoin NFTs may be over and that people can’t expect similar “crazy” price performances anymore.

Are Bitcoin layer-2s running out of steam?

Apart from Bitcoin NFTs, Hu told Cointelegraph that the hype around Bitcoin layer-2 and Bitcoin re-staking has also declined among venture capitalists.

Hu told Cointelegraph that at least 80 layer-2 networks aimed to get funded at the beginning of 2024 when the layer-2 narrative was strong. The executive said many projects pitched their ideas to investors, the media and different communities. Hu said that while there was some hype, this was “definitely over.”

Many other crypto executives and entrepreneurs resonate with Hu’s point of view about the dying hype around layer-2 ecosystems. On Feb. 20, Stacks co-founder Muneeb Ali said the “honeymoon phase” for Bitcoin layer-2s is over. The executive said that most projects will cease to exist as their initial excitement fades.

Meanwhile, Hu also told Cointelegraph that a third “overhyped” narrative was Bitcoin re-staking. He said that at the moment, there are only two or three projects still surviving after the peak of the narrative’s hype phase in 2024.

While some hyped narratives started to fade, Hu believes there are many things to look forward to in the growing Bitcoin ecosystem. The executive said that while layer-2s are a great narrative, they see it more as an engine that powers Bitcoin’s decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, which could allow holders to explore yield opportunities. Hu told Cointelegraph:

“Bitcoin layer-2s are providing architecture as a programmable, trust-minimized kind of infrastructure that could provide yield for the Bitcoin whale holders or institutions. That’s a very important narrative. I think we’ll expand more and more with the use cases with adoption.”

Bitcoin DeFi is yet to take off

Meanwhile, Dominik Harz, the co-founder of hybrid layer-2 Build on Bitcoin (BOB), told Cointelegraph that Bitcoin layer-2s should be seen as a long-term play.

“Looking at Bitcoin Layer-2s through a short-term lens misses the point. Hype cycles come and go, but lasting developments in crypto, like Bitcoin itself, are inherently long-term plays,” Harz said.

The executive also believes that Bitcoin DeFi has not yet reached its full potential. “Bitcoin DeFi hasn’t even really taken off yet. We’re very early. Only 0.3% of Bitcoin’s market cap is active in DeFi right now compared to 30% for Ethereum,” Harz told Cointelegraph.

Harz pointed out this was a 100x discrepancy, saying it would decrease rapidly as Bitcoin DeFi explodes. The executive also said layer-2s are necessary technological advancements for Bitcoin DeFi to hit the market.

Max Sanchez, the chief technology officer of layer-2 protocol Hemi Labs, also believes that Bitcoin layer-2s are not losing steam.

He told Cointelegraph that the space is entering a maturation phase where fundamentals matter. Sanchez said that many early projects in the Bitcoin layer-2 space brought technology from Ethereum without adapting it to Bitcoin's unique architecture “in a way that truly extends Bitcoin.”

Sanchez, who works on a hybrid project connecting to Ethereum, also said that building a layer-2 in just one silo and forgoing interoperability with Ethereum-based protocols is a “false notion.”