Bitcoin News Today: Bitcoin’s Missing Gear: Hemi Unlocks Programmability with $15M Boost

Bitcoin Layer Hemi has secured $15 million in funding to accelerate Bitcoin’s programmability, marking a significant step forward in the development of Bitcoin-based decentralized finance (DeFi). The funding round was led by YZi Labs, Republic Digital, and HyperChain Capital, with additional support from Breyer Capital, Big Brain Holdings, Crypto.com, and other notable investors. This brings Hemi's total funding to $30 million, as the platform prepares for its upcoming token generation event (TGE) [3].

Hemi, co-founded by Jeff Garzik, a former Bitcoin core developer, Maxwell Sanchez, and Matthew Roszak, aims to bridge the gap between Bitcoin’s robust security and Ethereum’s flexible programmability. By embedding a full Bitcoin node within an Ethereum Virtual Machine, Hemi has developed the Hemi Virtual Machine (hVM), which allows developers to build applications on Bitcoin without compromising on security or decentralization. This innovation unlocks new use cases for Bitcoin, including earning, borrowing, trading, and building, while maintaining seamless interoperability with other blockchains [3].

The project’s modular protocol is designed to integrate Bitcoin’s settlement layer with Ethereum’s developer tools, creating what Hemi describes as a “supernetwork” for on-chain finance. With over 100,000 verified users and a community of more than 400,000 members, Hemi has attracted partnerships with key players in the crypto industry, including Sushi, LayerZero, MetaMask, and Redstone. The platform currently supports over $1.2 billion in total value locked, signaling strong confidence in its ability to expand Bitcoin’s utility beyond mere value transfer [3].

YZi Labs, a major contributor to the funding round, emphasized its belief in Hemi’s team and product. Alex Odagiu, Investment Partner at YZi Labs, noted that the co-founders bring decades of combined experience and have demonstrated the ability to build working systems. He stated that Hemi represents the foundation for Bitcoin-native applications that the industry has long awaited [3].

Republic Digital, another key backer, highlighted the importance of Hemi’s approach in addressing Bitcoin’s limitations in programmability. Joseph Naggar, CEO and CIO of Republic Digital, explained that Bitcoin’s role as a secure settlement layer remains unmatched, but its potential has been constrained by the lack of scalable programmability. Hemi’s supernetwork architecture aims to solve this by integrating Bitcoin’s security with Ethereum’s developer ecosystem, enabling new layers of Bitcoin DeFi, restaking, and asset programmability [3].

Hemi is currently preparing for its TGE, with the tokenomics for $HEMI recently unveiled. The company plans to use the raised funds to expand its engineering team, allocate resources to ecosystem grants, and support the mainnet launch. The project is positioned as a critical piece of infrastructure in the evolving blockchain landscape, with investors viewing it as essential to unlocking Bitcoin’s full potential in the DeFi space [4].

Source: [1] Bitcoin Hyper Presale Nears $12M Raised as Whales Buy (https://www.mitrade.com/insights/news/live-news/article-3-1066497-20250825) [2] Bitcoin Hyper Layer 2 ICO Soars Past $11.8M (https://en.cryptonomist.ch/2025/08/24/bitcoin-hyper-layer-2-ico-soars-past-11-5m-next-100x-crypto/) [3] Hemi Raises $15 Million to Accelerate Bitcoin Programmability (https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hemi-raises-15-million-to-accelerate-bitcoin-programmability-ahead-of-token-launch-302539049.html) [4] Hemi Raises $15 Million for Bitcoin–Ethereum Layer-2 Network (https://thedefiant.io/news/blockchains/hemi-raises-15-million-bitcoin-ethereum-layer-2-network-4cb0054f)