Bitflow and Pontis Introduce the First-Ever Bitcoin Runes Automated Market Maker (AMM) on Stacks

The launch illustrates new applications of Runes, fungible BTC tokens traditionally known for slow transaction speeds, high fees, and sniping.

Technology company Bitflow and decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Pontis have introduced the first-ever Bitcoin Runes Automated Market Maker (AMM) on Stacks, a Layer-2 (L2) scaling solution for Bitcoin (BTC), Finbold learned on Wednesday, December 18.

The launch marks a new use case for Runes, a type of fungible BTC token that is typically known for its slow transaction speeds, high fees, and sniping.

In this initiative, Bitflow is prioritizing security with audits from Coinfabrik and Clarity Alliance and an Immunefi bounty program of $100,000 to encourage community participation.

Activated at Bitcoin Block #867,867, the recent Stacks Nakamoto upgrade reduced Stacks’ block times from 10 minutes to a few seconds, offering BTC-tier finality.

The new system finalizes trades in one Bitcoin block and one Stacks block (5–10 seconds), compared to the 3–6 block confirmations that are typically required by other BTC bridges.

Moreover, all Runes AMM transactions become as secure and irreversible as Bitcoin itself.

The Runes AMM is powered by the Pontis Bridge, a federated multi-signature system that is supported by a group of leading Web3 projects, including Xverse, Asigna, OrdinalsBot, and Liquidium.

Commenting on the interoperability that is being enabled by the new decentralized model, Filip S, Core Contributor at Pontis, said:

“At Pontis, our mission is to create a secure and seamless bridging experience for Runes and other metaprotocol assets by harnessing a consortium of trusted projects as node operators. In partnership with Bitflow, we are enhancing the user experience for BTC traders, enabling them to interact with Runes through liquidity pools on Stacks effortlessly.”

The Runes AMM features a Uniswap-style liquidity pool structure, offering deep liquidity, minimal slippage, and instant price discovery for Bitcoin assets.

This allows users to trade directly from their wallets, such as Xverse and Leather, without having to navigate marketplace listings or set prices manually.

Launching alongside sBTC, a non-custodial, programmable 1:1 BTC-backed asset, the Runes AMM enables swaps between native BTC, STX, and Runes—with incentives like a 5% BTC yield on sBTC deposits.

The integration of the Pontis Bridge into Bitflow's app will also facilitate seamless asset transfers and trading on Stacks. Initially, the platform will support popular Runes like BILLION•DOLLAR•CAT, DOG•GO•TO•THE•MOON, LIQUIDIUM•TOKEN, BASED•INTERNET•PANDA, SHORT•THE•DOLLAR, PUPS•WORLD•PEACE, POOKA•CANNOT•BE•STOPPED, ROOOOOOOOOONS, and USDh, which is the first Bitcoin-backed synthetic dollar on Runes.

If there is sufficient demand, additional BRC-20 tokens and native BTC assets, such as ORDI and TRIO, will be added in the future.