Botanix to close Spiderchain Layer-2; withdraw assets by July 9

Botanix Labs announced on June 9 that it will shut the Spiderchain Bitcoin Layer-2 network after four years and is asking users to withdraw Bitcoin and other assets by July 9, 2026. The company warned that any Bitcoin left after the deadline will be swept by the network federation and that other on-chain assets will become unrecoverable.

Spiderchain ran its mainnet for one year with full uptime and no reported security incidents. Botanix listed partnerships with Chainlink, Morpho, GMX and Fireblocks, and recently launched BINK, a self-custodial Bitcoin neobank. Across the project’s life the network processed about 25 million transactions and supported roughly 200,000 wallets.

Botanix chose not to issue a native token. The team wrote the decision was intended to avoid token incentives and noted it removed the liquidity engine that often helps new chains attract activity. Fee income never matched running costs, and the company concluded the network economics were unsustainable.

In a post-mortem the team listed five reasons Bitcoin decentralized finance struggled on Spiderchain. Most holders treat BTC as a store of value, which limited demand for DeFi products. Wrapped Bitcoin on other chains and centralized exchanges provided more convenient access. The absence of token incentives left no distribution mechanism to bootstrap liquidity. Holders focused on yield did not generate the transaction volumes the network needed. Rising costs for Bitcoin Layer-2 operations increased expenses beyond expectations.

Botanix also noted activity has consolidated around large exchanges, highly liquid venues and traditional finance platforms that maintain direct user relationships, leaving standalone infrastructure with fewer participants. The company wrote the concept for Bitcoin DeFi remains valid but that market timing did not favor the project.

Users must withdraw funds before the July 9, 2026 deadline. After that date the federation will sweep any remaining Bitcoin, and other on-chain assets left on Spiderchain will not be recoverable. The company closed its post with a farewell, writing, “It is with a heavy heart that we announce we are winding down the Botanix network. This decision is the hardest one we have made in four years.”