A historic moment for DeFi and Bitcoin

In early April 2025, decentralized exchange Sushi announced a major integration with ZetaChain, a Layer 1 blockchain designed for omnichain interoperability. This partnership allows users to trade native Bitcoin (BTC) directly within SushiSwap — without wrapping it or using centralized bridges.

This marks the first time that non-wrapped BTC becomes available in DeFi with full composability, opening up Bitcoin’s vast liquidity for decentralized applications.

How it works: Native Bitcoin on Sushi via ZetaChain

ZetaChain supports connections to multiple blockchains, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Cosmos. By integrating Sushi with ZetaChain, users can:

• Trade BTC directly in SushiSwap liquidity pools

• Use BTC in smart contracts without wrapping it into WBTC

• Bridge assets between Bitcoin and other EVM-compatible chains

ZetaChain achieves this using its omnichain smart contracts that interact with external chains through secure threshold signatures and light clients, making it trustless and decentralized.

Why this matters

Bitcoin holds over $1 trillion in market cap, but until now, it was largely absent from the DeFi ecosystem due to technical limitations — namely, the inability to run smart contracts. Users had to rely on wrapped versions (e.g., WBTC), which depend on custodians and introduce counterparty risk.

With ZetaChain and Sushi, Bitcoin becomes programmable and composable, meaning:

• Users can earn yield on native BTC

• Protocols can build DeFi products directly using BTC

• Liquidity becomes more efficient and accessible across chains

Benefits for users and developers

• No need for wrapped tokens or custodians

• Native BTC trading and liquidity provisioning

• Cross-chain swaps using ZetaChain’s unified platform

• Access to Bitcoin yield opportunities within DeFi

This dramatically expands the utility of BTC while improving decentralization and reducing reliance on bridges.

Sushi’s strategic shift

This move is part of Sushi’s broader effort to reestablish itself as a top-tier DEX by embracing multi-chain and omnichain strategies. By being the first major DEX to enable native BTC trading, Sushi gains a major edge in the competitive DeFi landscape.

Conclusion: Bitcoin finally joins DeFi — natively

The Sushi–ZetaChain integration could be the breakthrough the DeFi space has long awaited: bringing Bitcoin’s unmatched liquidity into decentralized finance without sacrificing security or decentralization. It’s a milestone that could redefine how BTC is used — not just as a store of value, but as an active asset in the Web3 economy.