Mintlayer 2025: Year End Development Recap

Development

December 29, 2025

A Year of Building the Foundation for the Future of Finance

As 2025 comes to a close, we're reflecting on a transformative year for Mintlayer. From launching public testnets for RioSwap and MintFun to deploying ZK Thunder Network and securing major capital commitments for Interest.One, this year marked the transition from infrastructure development to delivering user-facing products that demonstrate Bitcoin's potential in decentralized finance.

Here's a comprehensive look at what the Mintlayer accomplished in 2025.

Core Infrastructure: Three Major Releases

The foundation of our network’s infrastructure rests on three significant core node releases that strengthened network stability, enabled atomic swap functionality, and prepared the protocol for mainnet feature launches.

Mintlayer v1.0.0 launched in January, introducing support for native BTC cross-chain swaps (atomic swaps) and order functionalities. This release represented years of foundational work coming together, enabling Bitcoin to interact trustlessly with Mintlayer without wrapped tokens or custodians.

Core Node v1.1.0 shipped in August with critical improvements for order handling and security upgrades. This version introduced beta Trezor hardware wallet support and usability improvements for both wallet-cli and node-gui. The Testnet hard fork on September 30 successfully implemented these upgrades.

Core Node v1.2.0 arrived in October with further order handling refinements, security enhancements, and API updates specifically designed for atomic swap order flows. This release sets the stage for the upcoming mainnet hard fork scheduled for approximately January 20-21, 2026. All node operators must upgrade to v1.2.0 before this date to remain compatible with the network.

Developer Tools: SDK and Wallet Connectivity

In May, we launched the Mintlayer JavaScript SDK and React Layer, providing web developers with essential tools to connect to Mojito Wallet, sign transactions, and build custom features for decentralized applications. The SDK underwent continuous refinement throughout the year, expanding to cover everything developers need for full-stack dApp development, including support for Hash Time-Locked Contracts (HTLCs) for atomic swaps. By year's end, the SDK included working examples of Bitcoin atomic swap sequences, demonstrating the complete flow developers can integrate into their applications.

Wallet connectivity progressed significantly, with active development on Web3 interfaces that allow users to securely sign external transactions and messages directly from their browser, creating the foundation for a thriving dApp ecosystem on Mintlayer.

Mojito Wallet: From Browser Extension to Multi-Platform

Mojito Wallet evolved dramatically in 2025, transforming from a basic browser extension into a comprehensive wallet solution supporting NFTs, atomic swaps, and dApp connectivity. Early in the year, support was added for NFTs and MLS-01 tokens. Network call optimizations and numerous bug fixes improved responsiveness throughout the year. By November, Mojito had received a UI/UX refresh with modernized design, improved security measures, and enhanced overall performance and stability.

The wallet's integration with atomic swaps progressed significantly in the second half of 2025. HTLC support was implemented, with ongoing backend work to simplify the user experience when executing cross-chain swaps. By October, Mojito could connect directly to RioSwap's testnet, enabling users to participate in trustless peer-to-peer Bitcoin trading.

RioSwap: Bitcoin's First Native Cross-Chain DEX

October brought one of the year's most significant product launches when RioSwap went live on public testnet. Built on years of atomic swap infrastructure development, RioSwap represents the first Bitcoin-native cross-chain decentralized exchange using HTLCs to enable direct Bitcoin swaps without wrapped assets, bridges, or custodians.

The testnet launch showcased order-based trading, wallet connection with Mojito, and end-to-end swap flows. Community feedback led to important bugfixes throughout October and November as the team prepared for mainnet launch in 2026. A bug bounty program with 160,000 ML in prizes encouraged community participation in stress-testing the platform.

MintFun: Democratizing Token Creation

MintFun emerged in 2025 as the evolution of the Token Factory concept, transforming token creation from a technical challenge into a simple, accessible process. The public testnet launched in October, offering users a streamlined interface to create and manage MLS-01 fungible tokens without writing code. The platform leverages IPFS for decentralized data storage and integrates directly with Mojito Wallet for secure token issuance.

Community testing through October and November led to important bugfixes improving the token creation experience. As an open-source project, MintFun enables teams to fork, customize, and build their own token creation interfaces, fostering ecosystem growth.

ZK Thunder Network: Layer 3 for Speed and Compatibility

March marked a pivotal moment with the public testnet launch of ZK Thunder Network, Mintlayer's Layer 3 solution developed in collaboration with Carpediem. This ZK rollup-based, EVM-compatible scaling solution introduces 1-second block settlements and support for Ethereum-based smart contracts, dramatically expanding what developers can build on Bitcoin's foundation.

The three-layer architecture demonstrates Mintlayer's approach to scaling: Bitcoin (Layer 1) provides ultimate security, Mintlayer (Layer 2) enables atomic swaps and Bitcoin-native features, and ZK Thunder Network (Layer 3) delivers ultra-fast settlement and EVM compatibility for complex applications.

A Certik bug bounty program launched alongside the testnet, encouraging white-hat security researchers to identify vulnerabilities before mainnet deployment. Fast Bridge development progressed throughout 2025, focusing on connecting ZK Thunder Network to the Mintlayer Mainnet with particular attention to Ethereum integration.

Block Explorer: Enhanced Visibility and Transparency

The Mintlayer Block Explorer received continuous enhancements throughout 2025 to support the expanding ecosystem. Early in the year, support was added for both MLS-01 fungible tokens and MLS-03 NFTs. September brought a Transaction Decoder page for detailed inspection of on-chain broadcasts and a Mainnet Mempool Viewer for real-time visibility of unconfirmed transactions. November's updates included enhanced token filtering, transaction history, and verification functionality that allows verified tokens to receive a "Verify" mark on their token page.

Mintlayer Web Services: Building Past the Protocol

October marked the introduction of Mintlayer Web Services (MWS), the protocol's dedicated product studio for transforming ideas into working applications on Bitcoin. MWS provides builders, institutions, and innovators with compliant, scalable foundations including core blockchain infrastructure for tokenization and settlement rails, compliance and risk systems with KYC/AML integration, real-world asset solutions for issuance and secondary markets, and fintech integrations for analytics and workflow automation.

MWS launched with a focus on real estate tokenization, where automated rental yields distribute directly to token holders, real-time property dashboards provide income visibility, and digital cap tables deliver transparent ownership. The platform also supports bonds, loan services, commodities, and stablecoins, bringing institutional-grade infrastructure to Bitcoin-based applications.

Major Business Milestones

While development progressed steadily throughout the year, October brought major business announcements that demonstrated the real-world applications being built on Mintlayer's infrastructure.

Interest.One launched as the first platform designed to unlock Bitcoin's dormant capital and channel it into regulated, yield-generating real-world assets. The Fund of Funds model connects Bitcoin holders with institutional-grade opportunities across real estate, AI and advanced computing, healthcare and medtech, energy and mobility, sustainability and food security, and defense and cybersecurity. In November, Interest.One announced $60 million in private capital commitments, including a $50 million commitment for the Real Estate Fund.

Tokenized Pre-Series A demonstrated MWS's equity tokenization system in action. For the first time, qualified investors could access tokenized equity in Mintlayer itself using ML tokens, proving the technology that will enable other startups and enterprises to conduct regulated fundraising directly on-chain.

Looking Forward: 2026 and the Future

As we close out 2025, the Mintlayer team is actively working on an updated roadmap encompassing both technical development and strategic direction. This roadmap will be shared in the coming weeks and will outline our priorities for bringing RioSwap and MintFun to mainnet, graduating ZK Thunder Network from testnet, and continuing to expand the ecosystem of applications built on Mintlayer's infrastructure.

The January 20-21, 2026 mainnet hard fork represents the next immediate milestone, requiring all node operators to upgrade to Core Node v1.2.0.

Conclusion

2025 was the year Mintlayer transitioned from building foundations to delivering products. We launched public testnets for RioSwap and MintFun, deployed ZK Thunder Network, released comprehensive developer tools, introduced Mintlayer Web Services, and demonstrated real-world applications through Interest.One and tokenized equity offerings.

Every upgrade, bug fix, and new feature brings us closer to the vision of Bitcoin as programmable, productive infrastructure that preserves self-custody and security principles. Thank you to everyone who contributed to making 2025 a milestone year for Mintlayer.

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