Hemi

• Hemi is a modular Layer 2 combining Bitcoin's security with Ethereum's programmability.

• Its virtual machine embeds a full Bitcoin node, so contracts can read Bitcoin state directly.

• HEMI is the network token.

• Supply allocated across community, ecosystem and investors.

• Used for gas, staking and governance.

Pros:

• Contracts reading Bitcoin state natively is a genuine technical capability, not a bridge in disguise.

• Proof-of-proof consensus anchors the chain's history to Bitcoin.

• Co-founded by an early Bitcoin core developer.

Cons:

• Bitcoin Layer 2 is a crowded field with no established winner.

• Embedding a Bitcoin node in the virtual machine is complex and increases the surface for bugs.

• Early ecosystem with limited applications.

• Exposure to Bitcoin programmability through a technically distinct approach.

• Native Bitcoin state access avoids the bridge trust assumption.

• Weigh the crowded competitive field and early stage.

• Smart contracts that read Bitcoin state directly through an embedded node, rather than trusting a bridge to report it.

• Bitcoin DeFi requires wrapping BTC through a bridge, which has been the largest source of losses in crypto.

• Reading Bitcoin state natively removes the bridge from the trust path.

• Co-founded by Jeff Garzik, an early Bitcoin core developer, with Maxwell Sanchez.

• Backed by Binance Labs, Breyer Capital and Big Brain Holdings.

• No public ICO. Distributed via Binance ecosystem programmes and airdrop in 2025.

• Crowded Bitcoin Layer 2 field.

• Technical complexity of the embedded node design.

• Early ecosystem with limited applications.

• Bitcoin DeFi demand remains unproven at scale.