Charlie Yechuan Hu
Charlie Yechuan Hu is the co-founder and CEO of Bitlayer, a Bitcoin Layer 2 solution. With a background that includes ecosystem development for Polkadot and Polygon, Hu is focused on enhancing Bitcoin's programmability and enabling decentralized finance (DeFi) applications on the network. [1] [5]
Early Life
Hu's entry into the cryptocurrency space dates back to 2013, when he purchased his first bitcoin in Amsterdam. His initial interest was sparked by the technical aspects of the network, particularly its mining process and proof-of-work consensus mechanism. During this early period, he became an active participant in local Bitcoin meetups, which provided him with a foundational understanding of blockchain technology and the burgeoning digital asset community. In 2015, Hu expanded his involvement to the Ethereum ecosystem, an experience he has described as a pivotal moment that shaped his perspective on the potential of decentralized applications (dApps) and the broader capabilities of blockchain beyond a simple store of value. [6] [1]
Education
Charlie Yechuan Hu holds a Master of Science (MSc) in Financial Management from Nyenrode Business University, where he studied between 2013 and 2015. His studies were supported by the Orange Tulips Scholarship Program, through which he received a full scholarship valued at €24,000.
Before that, from 2009 to 2013, Hu pursued a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in International Economy and Trade at Tianjin Foreign Studies University. During his undergraduate years, he served as Director of the Public Relations and Marketing department in the Student Association. He graduated with a GPA of 3.56 on a 4.0 scale, ranking 10th out of 133 students in his program, and was recognized as an “Excellent Student,” an academic distinction awarded to the top 3% of his class. [7]
Career
Before founding Bitlayer, Charlie Yechuan Hu built a career focused on ecosystem development for prominent blockchain projects. He was an early-stage investor and a key contributor to the Polkadot ecosystem, where he was instrumental in expanding its community and presence across Asia. Following this, he took on a role at Polygon, where he led the expansion of its ecosystem in the Asia-Pacific region. This experience provided him with insights into blockchain programmability and the challenges of scaling Layer 2 solutions.
In 2023, motivated by the growth of Bitcoin-native assets like Ordinals and the official release of the BitVM whitepaper in October of that year, Hu identified a significant gap in Bitcoin's DeFi capabilities. He believed the network's security and liquidity were underutilized due to its limited programmability. This led him to co-found Bitlayer with Kevin He, officially launching the project at the end of November 2023. As co-founder and CEO, Hu directs the company's strategy to build a high-performance transaction layer on top of Bitcoin that is equivalent in security to the main chain. Under his leadership, Bitlayer Labs secured $25 million in funding from investors including Polychain Capital, Franklin Templeton, ABCDE, StarkWare, and OKX Ventures. [5] [6] [1] [8] [9]
Public Engagement
Hu is an active figure in the Web3 community, frequently participating in conferences and community events to discuss Bitlayer's development and the future of the Bitcoin ecosystem. In late 2022, he attended the G20 conference in Bali shortly after the collapse of FTX, an event he later recalled as a confusing time that solidified his commitment to building in the Web3 space. He has since appeared at numerous industry events, including Bitcoin Amsterdam in October 2024 and the online "Investfest 2025" conference in January 2025. In April 2025, he presented on Bitlayer's BitVM updates and "BTCFi journey" at a community event in Vietnam hosted by SUIHub, noting that the local engagement reminded him of the "2019 Polkadot good old days vibe." [4]
Views and Philosophy
Through various interviews and public appearances, Charlie Yechuan Hu has articulated his vision for the future of Bitcoin and the broader blockchain industry.
On Bitcoin's Evolution and DeFi
Hu advocates for evolving Bitcoin from a passive store of value into a productive, yield-generating asset. He has stated that a core goal for Bitlayer is to "activate the Bitcoin sitting in cold wallets without custody and feed it into DeFi for yield." He refutes arguments that there is only "pseudo-demand" for Bitcoin-based DeFi, identifying three key user groups with a clear need for such products: institutional liquidity funds seeking returns to cover operating costs, Bitcoin miners seeking on-chain yield after the collapse of centralized lenders, and a diverse group of retail investors. He believes that the project that successfully unlocks this liquidity at an industry-leading scale will gain significant pricing power in the market. [5] [6]
On Institutional Adoption
Hu has commented on what he terms the "institutional era" of Bitcoin, observing that the market's direction is increasingly influenced by major financial entities. He stated, "The real steering wheel has been handed over to major hedge funds and listed companies like MicroStrategy, BlackRock, and Franklin... price, sentiment, and even macro narratives are primarily influenced by these whales." He sees compliance with regulations as essential for Bitcoin's future as a mainstream asset and advocates for a balanced approach that maintains decentralization while collaborating with large financial institutions to ensure security and facilitate broader adoption. [5] [1]
On Ecosystem Growth and Usability
According to Hu, the development of a blockchain ecosystem is a time-sensitive competition. He has said, “I think the speed of growing ecosystem is very important. It's a race of my share developer attention but also the TVL [Total Value Locked] right liquidity as well.” He emphasizes the importance of creating user-friendly applications to facilitate mainstream adoption and has noted that the overall user experience in the Bitcoin ecosystem needs improvement. While prioritizing speed, he also acknowledges that "the implementation of technology requires strict auditing and verification, and continuous optimization" to maintain security. His advice to other entrepreneurs in the Web3 space is to recognize that "the space is getting bigger and bigger." [1] [5]
On Miner Incentives and Network Sustainability
Hu believes that for Bitcoin to remain sustainable in the long run, especially as block rewards diminish over time, miners must have access to additional revenue streams. He has stated, “I think it’s very important for the future of bitcoin in the long run to have the additional fees for the miners not just the mining blocks but also the transaction fees and so on as well.” This philosophy underpins Bitlayer's economic model, which is designed to share transaction fees generated on its Layer 2 network with Bitcoin miners, thereby aligning incentives and adding economic value back to the Bitcoin mainnet. [1] [5]
Controversies
Bitlayer's strategy includes forming strategic partnerships with major Bitcoin mining pools, such as Antpool, F2Pool, and SpiderPool, to ensure its non-standard BitVM transactions are prioritized and efficiently included in Bitcoin blocks. This model has raised concerns within the community that such collaborations could create an unfair advantage for Bitlayer's transactions over those of regular Bitcoin users, potentially compromising the network's neutrality. Hu has addressed this criticism by stating that transaction priority will be determined by market-based transaction fees, which he argues maintains equitable access for all network participants. He has emphasized that the goal is to create efficiency for Layer 2 operations without undermining Bitcoin's core decentralized ethos. [6]