Botanix Labs is winding down its Spiderchain Bitcoin Layer 2, giving users until July 9 to withdraw all assets before the network goes dark. The Polychain-backed project cited insufficient demand for Bitcoin-native DeFi as the reason it could not sustain itself economically.
In a post on X Tuesday, Botanix said the shutdown follows roughly a year of mainnet operation during which the network processed about 25 million transactions and onboarded approximately 200,000 wallets. Any assets remaining in the network after July 9 will be swept by the federation and become unrecoverable.
"It is with a heavy heart that we announce we are winding down the Botanix network," the team wrote.
Botanix, which raised $11.5 million of venture capital, attributed the closure to three structural forces within the Bitcoin ecosystem. Most holders still treat BTC primarily as a reserve asset and yield vehicle, the team said, limiting the frequency of onchain activity that fee-revenue models depend on.
Demand that does exist for Bitcoin-backed DeFi has concentrated around wrapped BTC products operating on Ethereum, rather than Bitcoin Layer 2 infrastructure. The third factor: growing activity on centralized venues, including Robinhood and Hyperliquid, and in institutional investment products, drew users who prioritize accessibility over decentralization.
