Announcing the Ducat Protocol Launch
Ducat Is Live
After months of development, auditing, and testnet iterations, the Ducat Protocol is officially live on Bitcoin mainnet. Starting today, users can deposit BTC into Ducat vaults and borrow UNIT, a dollar-denominated stablecoin that settles entirely on Bitcoin L1.
This launch represents a significant milestone for the Bitcoin DeFi ecosystem. For the first time, BTC holders can access stable dollar liquidity without bridging to another chain, trusting a centralized custodian, or giving up self-custody of their collateral.
Key Features at Launch
The initial release includes the core functionality that makes Ducat useful from day one. Users can open vaults with flexible collateralization ratios, choosing their own risk tolerance based on how much UNIT they borrow against their deposited BTC. The minimum collateralization ratio at launch is set conservatively to ensure system stability during the early growth phase.
Liquidations are handled through an open auction mechanism. When a vault falls below the minimum CR, any participant can trigger a liquidation and purchase the discounted collateral. This creates a competitive market for liquidators that benefits the overall health of the protocol.
The protocol dashboard provides real-time visibility into vault health, collateral ratios, outstanding UNIT supply, and system-wide metrics. Every transaction is verifiable on the Bitcoin blockchain, and the protocol state can be independently reconstructed from on-chain data.
Architecture and Security
Ducat operates through a set of Bitcoin scripts that encode the protocol rules directly into the transaction logic. There is no separate execution environment, no virtual machine, and no secondary consensus layer. The protocol leverages recent Bitcoin upgrades to enable the conditional spending logic required for vault management, liquidations, and redemptions.
Security has been a top priority throughout development. The protocol underwent multiple independent audits, and the team conducted extensive adversarial testing on testnet. The codebase is open source, and the audit reports are publicly available for community review.
What Comes Next
The launch is the beginning, not the end. The roadmap includes several planned improvements that will expand the protocol capabilities over the coming months. Governance mechanisms will give UNIT holders a voice in protocol parameter adjustments. Integration partnerships will expand the places where UNIT can be used for payments, trading, and yield generation.
The team is also exploring enhanced vault types that support more sophisticated collateral management strategies. These features will be rolled out incrementally, with each upgrade going through the same rigorous audit and testing process as the initial release.
Getting Started
To start using the Ducat Protocol, visit the app at app.ducatprotocol.com. Connect your Bitcoin wallet, deposit BTC into a new vault, and borrow UNIT at your preferred collateralization ratio. The documentation covers everything from basic vault management to advanced strategies for experienced users.
We built Ducat for Bitcoiners who want to put their BTC to work without compromising on the principles that make Bitcoin valuable. Welcome to the future of Bitcoin-native lending.
