Native Bitcoin Routes on LI.FI

TL;DR, Since going live on 2 February 2026, Garden has processed 54% of all WBTC Ethereum to WBTC Arbitrum swaps on LI.FI settling $49.7M in volume across 11,973 swaps, with a median settlement time of 1 minute 25 seconds.

What is LI.FI

LI.FI is the universal liquidity layer of defi. It aggregates and orchestrates 100+ bridges and exchanges across every major EVM chain, Solana, and beyond, into a single routing and execution API. Thousands of wallets, DEX frontends, and defi applications use LI.FI under the hood. If assets are moving across chains in your app, there's a reasonable chance LI.FI is handling the routing.

The challenge

LI.FI's coverage across all major chains is comprehensive, but native Bitcoin (actual BTC on L1) has limited routes due to the complexity of its architecture. The number of protocols capable of moving native Bitcoin in and out of the broader crypto ecosystem in a trustless, non-custodial way is nonexistent. Bitcoin is the largest source of liquidity onchain, and most of it sits idle. Making it compatible with defi has traditionally forced a choice: trust a centralised custodian to issue a wrapped token, or navigate multi-step bridging that can take hours due to Bitcoin's finality times. Custodial bridges carry counterparty risk. Traditional bridges are slow because they rely on hard-coded confirmation guarantees. CEX based flows break the onchain execution model entirely.

LI.FI, expanding their Bitcoin coverage, needed a provider that could handle native BTC routes reliably, at speed, without users needing to hand over custody at any point in the flow.

Solution

LI.FI integrated Garden as a native Bitcoin route provider. Garden's intent-based architecture, powered by HTLCs and an independent solver network, fit directly into LI.FI's aggregation model: LI.FI calls Garden's API for a quote, compares it against other available routes, and routes through Garden when it's the best option. No custom bridge infrastructure, no liquidity management, no dependencies.

The immediate outcome, every application built on LI.FI's API, be it wallets, defi frontends, portfolio managers, or agent-based commerce apps, all have access to native Bitcoin cross chain routes. 

Order flow

Here's how a BTC to USDC swap routes through LI.FI and Garden, end to end:

1. User submits a swap intent on any LI.FI integrated application, for example: BTC to USDC on Ethereum.
2. LI.FI's API receives the request and queries its full provider network for quotes.
3. Garden returns a quote. LI.FI compares all available routes and selects Garden as the best execution path.
4. LI.FI returns the route to the user for approval.
5. User approves and signs the Bitcoin transaction, sending BTC to a HTLC.
6. Garden's watcher detects the BTC transaction onchain. The solver simultaneously locks USDC in an HTLC smart contract on Ethereum.
7. The swap settles atomically. The user receives USDC, and the solver claims BTC. No intermediary held funds at any point.

By the numbers

Garden now settles 27% of all Solana to Bitcoin swaps routed through LI.FI, 54% of all WBTC Ethereum to WBTC Arbitrum swaps, and 30% of all cbBTC Base to WBTC Arbitrum swaps. 

Bitcoin is the most touched chain across Garden's routes on LI.FI, appearing in 5,761 swap legs. Solana follows at 3,850 and Ethereum at 2,700. The Solana to Bitcoin corridor alone accounts for two of the top three routes by number of swaps.

Why Garden

Bitcoin-first architecture

Garden is built specifically around Bitcoin cross-chain execution, not an EVM bridge that added BTC support as an afterthought. The HTLC based settlement model, UTXO handling, and solver network are all designed around how Bitcoin actually works on L1. 

Non-custodial at the protocol level

Garden never holds user funds. HTLCs enforce atomic settlement cryptographically; it's not a policy commitment, it's a protocol guarantee. For an aggregator like LI.FI, this matters because custody risk from any execution partner flows upstream to every app using the API.

API-first, clean to integrate

LI.FI added Bitcoin routes through a standard API integration. No solver infrastructure to run, no liquidity pools to seed, no wrapped token systems to manage. Garden exposes the full execution layer through its API, and LI.FI consumed it like any other route provider.

Route depth

Most providers support four or five BTC pairs. Garden supports hundreds and can add any new pair at a moment's notice.

Key takeaways

• LI.FI is the largest cross-chain aggregator; native Bitcoin has been one of the few gaps in its coverage until now
• $49.7M settled across 11,973 swaps in 80 days, with 1m 25s as median settlement time
• 27% of all Solana to Bitcoin swaps on LI.FI route through Garden
• 54% of all WBTC Ethereum to WBTC Arbitrum swaps routed through Garden 
• Any app on LI.FI's API already has access to Garden's Bitcoin routes through LI.FI’s swap & bridge API no additional integration required