Odaily reported that Richard Green, head of institutions and ecosystem at Rootstock Labs, said Bitcoin DeFi projects are adjusting their focus as overall DeFi liquidity continues to decline. Instead of aiming primarily at a broad set of crypto-native traders and hedge funds, projects in this segment are turning toward smaller user groups with deeper capital bases.
DeFi Outflows Reshape the Target User Base
Speaking during the BTC Prague conference, Green said the crypto-native traders and hedge funds that were previously easier to reach have largely stepped back as capital has flowed out of the DeFi market. According to the data cited, total value locked across DeFi protocols has fallen from about $180 billion in October last year to around $70 billion at present.
This shift has changed the user structure facing Bitcoin DeFi projects. The environment described by Green suggests that broad-based acquisition of general DeFi users is no longer the central path for Rootstock. Instead, the focus is moving toward user groups whose balance sheets and liquidity needs are directly tied to large BTC holdings.
Miners and Digital Asset Treasury Companies Move Into Focus
Against this backdrop, Rootstock is directing its target users toward Bitcoin miners and digital asset treasury companies, offering lending and yield products for them. Green said these users typically hold large amounts of BTC and may need liquidity or yield without selling their assets. Their needs are therefore more specific than those of ordinary DeFi trading users, and product design depends more closely on their actual holdings and balance sheet requirements.
Green said current demand for Bitcoin DeFi is not broadly distributed, but concentrated among a small number of capital-strong segments. For project teams, the key is no longer to build products mainly for a generalized DeFi audience, but to design around real balance sheet needs. Rootstock’s positioning, as described in the remarks, reflects a Bitcoin DeFi approach focused on matching products with miners and treasury companies that hold substantial BTC.