Merlin Chain (MERL)

Overview

Merlin Chain is a Bitcoin-focused blockchain network designed to give Bitcoin assets more ways to be used. It connects to Bitcoin through a bridge and offers an environment where developers can build smart-contract applications. Its token, MERL, supports staking, ecosystem incentives, and certain fee payments. Bitcoin and MERL play different roles: Bitcoin is the asset the network aims to serve, while MERL is part of Merlin Chain’s own economic system. (docs.merlinchain.io)

Merlin Chain is often called a Bitcoin Layer 2. More specifically, its documentation describes it as a sidechain anchored to Bitcoin: it runs its own transactions and smart contracts, connects assets through a bridge, and periodically records information on Bitcoin. That design helps explain both its appeal and its complexity. Users gain access to applications beyond Bitcoin’s usual transaction features, while those applications rely on systems that Merlin Chain operates alongside Bitcoin. (docs.merlinchain.io)

History & Team

From Bitmap Tech to Merlin Chain

Merlin Chain grew out of Bitmap Tech, a company founded by Jeff Yin. Bitmap Tech announced the project in January 2024. Its testnet opened later that month, and its mainnet went live on February 8, 2024. An early program called Merlin’s Seal let participants commit supported assets and earn points tied to the later MERL distribution. The program formed part of the project’s launch and community-building effort. (docs.merlinchain.io)

The project reported financing activity in February 2024 with participants including OKX Ventures and ABCDE. In April 2024, it announced another round led by Spartan Group and Hailstone Labs, with Amber Group and Presto Labs among the participants. Funding gave the team resources to develop the network and its applications; the network’s longer-term role depends on how its tools are used. (docs.merlinchain.io)

Development continued after launch. Merlin Chain documented a mainnet upgrade in January 2025 that included improvements to its Polygon CDK-based software, gas handling, and developer interfaces. A preliminary MERL staking stage followed in February 2025. These milestones show how the project has worked on both the chain’s technical base and participation in its operation. (docs.merlinchain.io)

Technology & How It Works

Processing transactions and connecting to Bitcoin

Merlin Chain supports the Ethereum Virtual Machine, or EVM. This lets developers use many familiar Ethereum smart-contract tools while building applications that work with assets from the Bitcoin ecosystem. The network uses Polygon CDK technology and describes a design involving transaction batches, zero-knowledge proofs, a distributed oracle network, and data-availability systems. (docs.merlinchain.io)

A transaction begins on Merlin Chain, where sequencers collect transactions and process them in batches. The project’s technical design uses zero-knowledge proofs to help check changes in the network’s records. Its oracle network gathers information from those batches, while records associated with the activity are submitted to Bitcoin through Taproot. Grouping many transactions in this way reduces the amount of information each individual action needs to place on Bitcoin. (docs.merlinchain.io)

Data availability is another part of the design. It means making the information behind network activity accessible so that it can be checked. Merlin Chain’s documentation describes work with external data-availability networks and an oracle system that stores transaction data. It also outlines a Bitcoin-based fraud-proof mechanism intended to let a verifier challenge a disputed record. These are separate pieces of a broader system for processing and checking activity. (docs.merlinchain.io)

The official bridge connects Bitcoin and Merlin Chain in both directions. It supports BTC and listed Bitcoin-based assets, including selected BRC-20 tokens and digital collectibles. After an asset crosses the bridge, it can be used within Merlin Chain applications; moving it back requires a bridge transaction in the opposite direction. The bridge is therefore central to the network’s goal of bringing Bitcoin assets into a smart-contract setting. (docs.merlinchain.io)

Tokenomics & Utility

Supply and distribution

Merlin Chain sets MERL’s total supply at 2.1 billion tokens. Its published allocation divides that supply among several groups and purposes: (docs.merlinchain.io)

• 40% for ecosystem grants and incentives
• 20% for Merlin’s Seal participants
• 16.57% for community plans and rewards
• 15.23% for private investors
• 4.2% for the team
• 3% for advisers
• 1% for the public sale

The categories have different release schedules. Merlin’s Seal and public-sale allocations began releasing at the token generation event, while team, investor, community, and ecosystem allocations followed longer schedules. This approach spreads token access over time and reserves a substantial share for applications, builders, and community programs. (docs.merlinchain.io)

What MERL does

MERL can be staked in Merlin Chain’s preliminary proof-of-stake program. The project also describes roles for the token in node participation, ecosystem grants, liquidity, and collateral. Governance voting is a stated future function tied to the deployment of on-chain governance contracts. This distinction matters when describing the token: staking and certain wallet fee payments have been introduced, while the full governance process depends on further implementation. (docs.merlinchain.io)

Merlin Mainnet lists BTC as its standard gas currency. MERL has a more specific fee role: users of Merlin’s account-abstraction wallet can select it to pay for supported transactions. The token is also proposed as a fee option for future networks built on top of Merlin Chain. (docs.merlinchain.io)

Ecosystem & Use Cases

Merlin Chain’s main use case is giving Bitcoin-based assets a place to interact with smart contracts. A user can bridge supported assets to the network, then use applications built for trading, collectibles, or other on-chain activities. Developers can build with EVM tools while designing products for people who already hold Bitcoin ecosystem assets. (docs.merlinchain.io)

The network documents support for asset types and protocols including BRC-20, BRC-420, Bitmap, and others. Its bridge guide lists examples of tokens and digital collectibles, showing how different Bitcoin-native assets can enter the same application environment. Merlin’s documentation also describes M-Tokens, which represent assets committed through certain programs and allow their holders to use ecosystem products. (testnet.merlinchain.io)

One example of an application is MerlinSwap, which Merlin Chain uses in its guide to paying transaction fees with MERL through an account-abstraction wallet. More broadly, the project has set aside ecosystem tokens for grants and incentives and announced a builder grant program. These efforts connect MERL’s distribution to the project’s aim of attracting applications, rather than limiting the token to transfers between holders. (docs.merlinchain.io)

Advantages & Challenges

Merlin Chain combines several features that are useful together. Its EVM support gives developers familiar tools; its bridge brings selected Bitcoin assets into that environment; and batching aims to make routine application activity more efficient. Wallet options also make it possible for both EVM wallet users and some native Bitcoin wallet users to reach Merlin applications. (docs.merlinchain.io)

The same design creates technical challenges. Merlin Chain has its own transaction-processing system, bridge, oracle network, and data-availability arrangements. Each part must work with the others for an asset transfer or application action to complete. Native Bitcoin wallets also need an added connection method to interact with EVM applications; Merlin Chain documents BTC Connect as one way to create a smart account controlled through a Bitcoin wallet. (docs.merlinchain.io)

Another challenge is turning technical capacity into lasting use. Grants can help builders start projects, but useful applications require continued development and participation. For Merlin Chain, growth means bringing together Bitcoin asset holders, application developers, and the systems that connect their activity. (docs.merlinchain.io)

Where to Buy & Wallets

MERL is available on Kraken, OKX, and Bitget. Supported purchases and services vary by platform and location. The token also exists across multiple supported networks, so its network matters when it is transferred to a personal wallet. (kraken.com)

MetaMask can connect to Merlin Mainnet as a custom EVM network. Merlin Chain’s published settings identify chain ID 4200 and BTC as the network’s standard gas currency. For Bitcoin-native wallets, the project documents BTC Connect support for wallets such as UniSat, OKX Wallet, and Bitget Wallet. Through that system, a Bitcoin wallet can authorize a smart account that interacts with Merlin applications. (docs.merlinchain.io)

Regulatory & Compliance

MERL’s legal treatment depends on the activity and jurisdiction involved. In the European Union, the Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, known as MiCA, sets rules for offers, trading admission, disclosures, and crypto-asset services. A MERL white paper published by Kraken for its EU activity classifies the token as a crypto-asset other than an asset-referenced token or e-money token. In the United States, crypto-asset offerings and services are assessed under the applicable rules and the facts of each arrangement; businesses that exchange or transmit virtual currency may also have financial-crime compliance duties. (assets-cms.kraken.com)

Shariah treatment of MERL calls for looking at how the token and related applications are used. Its documented functions include staking, fee payments, and access to an ecosystem that can include financial applications. Islamic finance principles address matters such as interest, or riba, and gambling, or maysir. An assessment of a particular MERL activity therefore involves the terms of that activity, rather than the token’s name or its technical design alone. (assets-cms.kraken.com)

Future Outlook

Merlin Chain’s future work centers on making Bitcoin-linked assets easier to use in applications while developing the systems behind the network. Its stated plans include broader proof-of-stake participation, on-chain governance, and possible MERL fee use on Layer 3 networks. The project has also described improvements to proof generation, data availability, and developer tools as areas of development. (assets-cms.kraken.com)

The lasting measure of those efforts will be how well the pieces fit together. Bridges need to serve asset holders, tools need to serve developers, and applications need to give people a reason to use Bitcoin assets on the network. MERL’s role can grow alongside those uses where staking, incentives, and fee options are part of the experience. (docs.merlinchain.io)

Summary

Merlin Chain brings EVM-compatible applications to a sidechain connected with Bitcoin assets. It uses a bridge, transaction batching, proofs, and supporting data systems to link those applications with the Bitcoin ecosystem. MERL supplies a token for staking, incentives, and selected fee payments, with governance among the project’s planned functions. Together, the chain and token represent an effort to make Bitcoin-based assets useful across a wider range of on-chain applications. (docs.merlinchain.io)