Description
Nomic runs a decentralized custody network alongside Bitcoin that lets users deposit native BTC and mint a 1:1 backed token (nBTC) usable on other blockchain networks, including Osmosis, Cosmos, Ethereum, and Berachain. The protocol is fully-verifying (it verifies the Bitcoin chain directly without oracles), includes emergency disbursal mechanisms that automatically return BTC to nBTC holders, and enforces circuit breakers/rate limits on withdrawals and signatory changes. The network is secured by staking of its native NOM token, with stakers earning both NOM and nBTC rewards; NOM distribution was modeled on Cosmos ecosystem tokens (e.g., OSMO) with airdrops to ATOM, OSMO, JUNO, EVMOS, and KUJI holders. Nomic's blockchain is built on Orga, a Rust-based Proof-of-Stake blockchain stack (similar in scope to the Cosmos SDK) using CometBFT consensus, and Merk, a high-performance Merkle key/value store, both authored and maintained by Turbofish, Nomic's core development team. Governance and a strategic reserve are managed by the Nomic DAO Foundation, and the platform targets developers and chains (Bitcoin layer-2s, IBC chains, EVM chains) seeking decentralized BTC custody and interoperability.