Rover announced the completion of a $4.10 million seed funding round, with investors including CMS, Animoca Ventures, Bloccelerate, and others. Rover is a Bitcoin liquid staking protocol based on Botanix, designed to provide liquid staking solutions for Bitcoin holders. By staking Bitcoin, users can obtain the liquid staking token rovBTC and participate in trading, lending, and other activities within Botanix's DeFi ecosystem. Rover was founded by David Mass and Meir Bank, with team members who have previously worked at Citibank and AngelDAO. Rover has established collaborations with top builders such as Chainlink and Dolomite and has undergone security audits by Trail of Bits, Zellic, and Halborn. Willem Schroé, founder of Botanix Labs, stated that Rover brings a decentralized and secure way to earn yields on Bitcoin, enhancing Bitcoin's utility. Rover plans to launch its mainnet soon to help Bitcoin holders achieve asset appreciation.

May 20, 2025 – Today, Rover, a liquid staking protocol for Bitcoin, announces the close of a $4.1M seed round with participation from Bloccelerate, Animoca Ventures, CMS Holdings, UTXO, Maelstrom and others, Rover is developing the flagship liquid staking solution for Bitcoin holders on Botanix, the first fully decentralized Bitcoin-based blockchain. Rover also secured a strategic investment from UTXO, an early stage Bitcoin venture fund. The Rover Team was founded by David Mass and Meir Bank, who were previously at Citibank and AngelDAO.Additional Investors in the round included Veil VC, Builder Capital, Infinity Ventures, RockTree Capital, Wise3 Ventures, Stake Capital, Relayer Capital, Optic Capital, and others. Angel investors who contributed to the fundraise included Meltem Demirors, Kartik Talwar, Cami Ramos Garzon, Mike Silagadze, Alan Curtis, and Ben Lakoff.Rover is preparing to launch on mainnet soon, enabling users to stake their Bitcoin, which allows them to receive the protocol's liquid staking token, rovBTC. By holding rovBTC, users can earn yield in the form of additional Bitcoin. Holders can then participate in DeFi activities such as trading, lending, or using it as collateral across Botanix’s DeFi ecosystem."It has historically been a challenge for Bitcoin to experience the full benefits of DeFi, as it has always primarily been a store-of-value asset,” said Rover Co-founder David Mass. “For us, creating Rover was an opportunity to bring out Bitcoin's full potential through liquid staking, exclusively on Botanix."In recent months, Rover has strengthened partnerships with top-tier builders including Chainlink, Dolomite, Vertex and Kiln. Rover has also undergone security audits by leading security firms in the Web3 space by Trail of Bits, Zellic and Halborn.“Everyone wants Bitcoin yield, and the demand is enormous,” said Botanix Labs Founder Willem Schroé. “But until now, there has been no trust-minimized way to access it. Rover is purpose-built to meet that demand. It delivers native Bitcoin yield without compromising on decentralization, security, or user control. This is a major step forward for Bitcoin’s utility.”Rover is a decentralized liquid staking protocol built on Botanix, enabling Bitcoin holders to stake their assets in exchange for rovBTC, a liquid staking token (LST). The LST allows users to retain their liquidity to use throughout the Botanix ecosystem while earning rewards. Botanix is designed to power a decentralized financial system that runs entirely on Bitcoin.The future of earning more with your Bitcoin?In recent years, Bitcoin holders have had limited opportunities to put their assets to work and earn yield. With Rover, users can now fully leverage their Bitcoin holdings to maximize utility and generate additional returns."Since coming out of stealth earlier last year, we've been collaborating closely with Botanix Labs to entrench ourselves within Botanix’s DeFi ecosystem, allowing Bitcoin depositors on Rover to fully partake in a seamless liquid staking experience. For the first time, Bitcoin holders can earn yield on their assets, marking a major shift in the industry," Mass explains.XWebsiteDiscord This post is commissioned by and does not serve as a testimonial or endorsement by The Block. This post is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment, tax, legal or other advice. You should conduct your own research and consult independent counsel and advisors on the matters discussed within this post. Past performance of any asset is not indicative of future results.

Rover completes $4.10 million seed round to develop a Bitcoin liquid staking protocol based on Botanix