The bull market rhythm has begun, with $BTC / $ETH taking turns on stage, presenting numerous opportunities that are dazzling. The reality, however, is that there are not many projects that can truly turn time into returns. Over the past month, I have been closely watching @nubit_org, and the reason is simple — it is not recreating a "BTC-like" sidechain, nor playing with cross-chain wrapping, but rather directly integrating speed and programmability into the Bitcoin ecosystem, positioning itself as a "native upgrade + Soft Fork route." The official name for this upgrade is Bitcoin Thunderbolt, with the core technology being UTXO Bundling: instead of moving UTXOs on-chain, it instantaneously reallocates the spending rights of a group of UTXOs off-chain through "key tweak," which is equivalent to expanding the "single-lane UTXO transfer" into a multi-lane express lane. This approach maintains BTC's trust model while maximizing speed and throughput — foreign media reports that the mainnet has achieved an experiential level of ~2.897 seconds per transaction.
Who is doing it, who is endorsing it?
Thunderbolt was initiated by miners, whales, and early contributors from the Satoshi Nakamoto era, with the Nubit team being one of the co-initiators; the project's official channels have also emphasized support from Polychain multiple times. This combination of "old miners + leading funds" is quite sensitive to the consensus of "do not touch the security boundaries of BTC L1," hence they are taking a cautious approach of "soft fork upgrade + gradually loosening permissions."
Not everyone can enter directly: Boosting Code & Boostpad
The Mainnet is live, but access is granted via "Boosting Code": there are hourly lottery opportunities through Boostpad, and actively participating in X/Discord events and community tasks will also yield batches. The official design goal is very clear: to combat witch hunting and reward truly active participants. Additionally, when bridging from Thunderbolt to the BTC Mainnet, the official channels clearly state that KYC is required (only for this bridging step). If you are only experiencing and interacting within Thunderbolt, the focus is on obtaining the Code and staying active. ( Medium)
The real "Yield Panel": Thunderbolt Station (Three-Stage)
If Boosting Code is the ticket for entry, then Thunderbolt Station is the engine that turns "participation" into "cash flow." The official breakdown consists of three steps:
Stage 1 Infrastructure: Mint $tsUSD to reserve quotas. The amount of $tsUSD you hold determines the maximum assets that can be deposited in the next stage.
Stage 2 Construction: Use the $tsUSD limit in hand to actually deposit assets and start generating site income.
Stage 3 Completion: Daily Settlement, View Progress, Receive Earnings.
Income comes from two parts: network transaction fee sharing (you are helping the network maintain and expand) + daily output of Boosting Codes (the more you store, the more codes the site generates).
As of July 1, 2025, the official provided a set of usage data: Mainnet 4 million+ transactions, daily active users 5,000+, Boostpad 379,000+ lottery draws, 17,926 verified users—these are not PPT indicators, but solid evidence of actual usage.
About $tsUSD: Don't treat it as a stablecoin, $tsUSD is your "deposit cap" certificate. Within the Thunderbolt network, $1 of $USD1 or $1 of BTC = 1000 $tsUSD; if you participate on the BTC/BNB chain side, $1 can only be exchanged for 900 $tsUSD (discount for cross-domain participation); furthermore, the funds used to exchange for $tsUSD are non-refundable, this is a process of "holding a position/locking amount." This detail is crucial, don't go All in without understanding.
How can I participate (subjective strategy, for reference only)
I regard Thunderbolt as "an early high-signal native BTC infrastructure," aiming to both take the experience dividend and seek a larger narrative in the future (soft fork, native stablecoin $USD1, on-chain financial primitives). My actions are very restrained, but they are strong in persistence:
First, get the Code and frequently participate in the Boostpad lottery: without a code, nothing can be discussed. If you can't win, go to community events to look for batch releases.
Make interactions "human-like": transfers, signatures, participating in events, answering questions/ranking, diverse actions + stable frequency, more recognizable than mechanically repeating one action. The design threshold of this project itself is focused on "continuity + quality". (The official documentation clearly explains the "participation methods" and "limited code issuance.")
Understand the "quota logic" of Station as early as possible: confirm the position you can afford, then mint $tsUSD, occupying the spot = gaining the right to deposit later, do not sacrifice your capital liquidity for a little speed. (Medium)
Use Station as a "cash flow tool": look at two sources: network fee sharing + production code (the code itself is useful in the ecosystem and can bring incremental access). This is closer to real business than "pure points". (Medium)
Confirm KYC boundary before bridging: KYC is not triggered only when experiencing within Thunderbolt; if you want to bridge back to the BTC mainnet, it is clearly stated in the official Medium: KYC is required. The sooner you know about compliance, the more at ease you will be. (Medium)
Why do I watch it, not others?
Differentiation on the route: it is neither a sidechain/cross-chain bridge nor wrapping BTC to play elsewhere, but rather "delegation/reallocation" of UTXO spending rights—this is more "BTC native" in narrative.
The speed metrics are publicly disclosed: 2.897s at this level at least proves that there is a significant improvement on the user experience side (media reports + official reiteration). (The Defiant, Medium)
Dual-layer design of issuing codes + sites: one hand captures real activity, and the other hand converts activity into network income/code generation, rather than a single "task points."
Risk and Boundaries (must see)
Technical and consensus risks: Soft forks and "UTXO Bundling" belong to a new paradigm, which requires time for implementation, auditing, and compatibility verification. (
KYC and Compliance: KYC is only required when you bridge back to the BTC Mainnet from Thunderbolt; regional differences and compliance requirements may affect availability and experience.
The non-refundable attribute of $tsUSD: The funds in Stage 1 are non-refundable, this is not a "deposit", it is a conversion limit. Be sure to weigh liquidity against opportunity cost. (Medium)
Data is a snapshot, not a commitment: figures such as "4 million+ transactions/5k DAU" are the official metrics as of 2025-07-01, which can only prove temporary popularity and do not represent future sustainability. (Medium)
Conclusion (For you who are also looking for the "bull run second curve")
If what you want is an "early, native, and clean rules" BTC opportunity, Thunderbolt is worth monitoring: first take Code, then do a small trial run with Station, and understand the mechanism before deciding on the depth of your position. Don't be swayed by the "get rich quick" mentality—considering the next experience and maintaining stability and activity as part of your strategy is often more reliable than "blindly guessing TGE." The above is my subjective approach and does not constitute investment advice; links should only be recognized from official channels to avoid "customer service/airdrop" phishing.
(Further reading: The official documents on UTXO Bundling, Boostpad / Get Involved, and the three phases of Thunderbolt Station along with the details of $tsUSD are all broken down with illustrations, making it the most information-dense for beginners to start from these few pages.)