A couple of months back, we introduced you to a blockchain that combines the scalability and programmability of Ethereum with the security and decentralization levels of Bitcoin.

A match made in heaven, right?

That blockchain is none other than Core Chain.

We warned you guys; the Core DAO team are shipooors through and through. They put out products faster than you can say ‘ship.’

In case you haven’t been paying attention and were staring at charts getting liquidated all of April, let me quickly update you on all things Core.

Let’s start with the biggest one, the introduction of Non-Custodial BTC staking. BTC holders can also stake their BTC with Core to earn a yield and delegate their stake to Core validators to help secure the chain while having custody of their assets.

Another major product release was coreBTC going live. As we mentioned in the previous article, coreBTC is Core Chain’s native-wrapped version of Bitcoin. Bitcoin holders can bridge their BTC and wrap it for coreBTC, pegged 1:1 with BTC. Once this is done, users can receive their coreBTC and use it on the Core Chain.

Additionally, Core DAO engaged in many partnerships and integrations to grow the chain’s DeFi ecosystem, launched innovative incentive programs and onboarded many more developers.

In short, Core Chain is growing. And growing rapidly.

With this in mind, it is simply our duty as fellow apes to keep you guys on top of all the best opportunities in the market, and we believe Core Chain is one of those opportunities. While the entire market overlooks a budding ecosystem, it is time to start placing your chips before the herd arrives.

So today, we will give you guys a detailed breakdown on how to migrate to Core Chain, wrap your BTC for coreBTC, and natively stake your BTC.

Let’s get into it.

Using Core Mainnet

Step 1 - Connect Your Wallet

First, go to the CoreDAO website

Once there, you can navigate to the top right of your screen, where you will see a “connect wallet” option.

Once you click on it, you will see the wallet pop-up that you see when interacting with most crypto protocols.

If you’re not using Rabby, you’re ngmi. Sorry, I don't make the rules.

Once you choose which wallet you want to connect with, you will be asked to choose a network.

The one on the left is the testnet, and the one on the right, which says “Core DAO” will be the mainnet.

Once you select that option, you will be asked to sign a message and add the network RPC to your wallet.

The network RPC should be added automatically, but in case  you need to add it manually, here are the details:

• Network Name: Core Blockchain
• New RPC URL: https://rpc.ankr.com/core
• Chain ID：1116Note: 0x45c is the same as 1116. The new version of MetaMask converts chain ID to hexadecimal format.
• Currency Symbol: CORE
• Block Explorer URL: https://scan.coredao.org

Okay, so you’re now connected to the Core Network.

The next step is bridging your funds.

Step 2: Bridging Your Funds

On the homepage, at the bottom left-hand side of your screen, you will find an option that says ‘Bridge to Core.’

Click on that option.

Once you do that, you will be redirected to a new page where you will be greeted with two options.

These options are for two different types of users.

If you’re an EVM user who has assets primarily on EVM chains, then choose the ‘Core Bridge’ option.

After clicking on ‘Go to transfer’ (at the bottom of the page), you will be introduced to this familiar layout.

Choose the chain you want to bridge from, select the asset you want to bridge, and then input the amount.

Then, approve and confirm the transaction in your wallet. Your funds should be on Core Chain shortly.

The coreBTC option on the right is for Bitcoin users with assets in their Unisat wallet.

After clicking on ‘Mint coreBTC’, users will see this page.

So, you first connect your wallet.

Then, you select the amount of BTC you wish to convert to coreBTC. After that, you must input an EVM address at the bottom to receive the coreBTC on Core Chain.

Once you have completed all of this and approved the transaction, be sure to adjust the fee rates. The fee that it will show you by default is the market rate, but if you want your transaction to be approved faster, adjust the fee rate accordingly.

Once that is done, you can confirm the transaction. Congratulations, you’ve successfully minted coreBTC.

Whether you bridged from an EVM chain or Bitcoin, you now have funds on Core Chain.

Step 3: Using Core Chain

So you have your funds ready on Core Chain and are ready to degen to your heart's content. Where to next?

If you aren’t familiar with the Core ecosystem, head back to the homepage.

Over there, navigate to the top panel and hover your mouse over the ‘Explore’ tab.

You will see a drop-down list where the first option will be ‘ecosystem.’ Click on that.

Once you do that, you will see the following page.

This is essentially a curated list of the key applications live on Core Chain. So, depending on what you want to do, pick a category and start exploring some of these protocols.

Get active in the lending markets, find a DEX of your choice, and start some degen shitcoining shenanigans. If that doesn’t interest you, you can even get involved in some games.

The possibilities are endless.

But what about those who aren’t looking to use Core Chain for regular on-chain activities but want to earn a passive yield from the network?

This is where BTC staking comes in.

Staking BTC with the Core Network

As mentioned earlier, Core Chain recently introduced non-custodial BTC staking.

It is a non-custodial way for BTC holders to stake their BTC, allowing them to earn a passive yield on their assets without relinquishing control of those assets. By doing this, they are not only earning a yield, but they will also be participating in Core Chain’s consensus mechanism, thereby keeping the chain secure.

So, let’s go over it.

Prerequisites

Those looking to stake their BTC need these two things:

• An Xverse or Unisat Wallet containing their BTC.
• A Core wallet address to which their rewards will be sent

If you have both of these, you are ready to begin staking.

Step 1: Connect your wallet

First, you visit the staking website, where you will see the following homepage.

At the top right of your screen, click on ‘Connect Wallet’ and select a wallet.

Step 2: Choosing a Validator

If you scroll down a little bit, you will see something like this.

This is essentially the list of validators you can choose from, with the relevant information presented on the right-hand side.

Once you have selected a validator to whom you would like to delegate your stake, click on their name.

You will be greeted by this page.

As shown by the arrows in the image above, hover your mouse over the ‘Delegate’ tab and then click on the ‘BTC’ option.

When you do this, you will be asked to connect your BTC wallet.

Simply connect the wallet and specify the amount of BTC you would like to stake as well as the time period for the lock.

It’s important to note that you are required to stake a minimum of 0.01 BTC, not including gas fees. In addition, when selecting the locking period, be very mindful of the timeframe you select. The minimum lock is ten days, but beyond that, the timeframe you choose cannot be changed midway, so once you commit to the stake, your assets will be locked in for that period of time.

Once you have input all of this information, click on ‘Confirm Delegation’ at the bottom of your screen and bam – you’ve now staked your BTC and are earning yield on it.

Just that easy.

Step 3: Rewards and Redemption

As you can guess, interlocking BTC staking with an EVM chain is not easy. There are many technical challenges involved.

Before signing your transaction, you must first check whether it has an OP_return output.

Once you’ve done that and signed the transaction, hover over your wallet in the top right-hand corner of your screen.

You will see a ‘My Staking’ option, which you should click on.

On the page that pops up, look for BTC(x).

Once you click on that, there are two things to verify.

First, make sure that your chosen validator is waiting for transaction confirmation. The second thing to look for is that it says ‘rewarding’ under ‘Redeem time’ for your chosen validator.

Once all of that is verified, you are now staking BTC!

Concluding thoughts

With all this interest around a BTC application ecosystem, the success of Core Chain is a no-brainer.

They are a proven product that uses the best of EVM and Bitcoin to create a secure and scalable blockchain that will be around for years to come.

With this guide, we hope to have given you an easy tutorial into not only how to use the chain for various DeFi, NFT, and gaming activities but also a way to earn passive yield on your BTC.

So, all that’s left for you to do is get active and take advantage of the opportunities Core Chain has to offer.