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Blockchain-focused platform Hotstuff Labs announced the public testnet launch of Hotstuff L1, a DeFi-native Layer 1 powered by DracoBFT, a custom consensus protocol.
Hotstuff L1 is a purpose-built chain pairing a high-performance on-chain order book with a programmable finance routing layer. Validators on the chain act as last-mile gateways to trading, payments, and fiat rails, enabling real-world financial access on demand. The architecture positions Hotstuff not as a general-purpose chain but as an “Uber-style” routing layer where validators provide on-demand financial services.
Hotstuff Labs counts top-tier investors and contributors among its backers, including Delphi Digital, Dialectic, Stake Capital, Tykhe Ventures, and founders from leading DeFi protocols such as 1inch, Safe, Biconomy, and Socket.
Julien Bouteloup, Founder of Stake Capital Group, said: “Hotstuff Labs is building a performant chain that links trading, payments, and real-world settlement into one coherent layer. The vision is to enable validators to become active financial access points. That aligns perfectly with how we see the future of infrastructure: decentralised, compliant, and directly plugged into the global economy.”
Beyond trading, Hotstuff L1 enables validators to opt in as permissioned service providers. Validators are intended to do more than secure consensus: they serve as global financial access points for both the core trading engine and end users. Stablecoin rails provide off-chain liquidity to the core trading engine, while validators enable last-mile connectivity for fiat on/off-ramps, payments, and FX use cases for users.
Integrations with payment platforms, on/off-ramps, banking partners, and card programs are built into the chain to allow validators to monetize services such as powering fiat-stablecoin ramps, regional payment and remittance rails, issuing or supporting cards and local accounts, and providing connectivity across currencies and regions.
The chain matches users to specific validators based on stake, performance history, and quality of service, functioning as a routing layer combined with lightweight zero-knowledge proofs for trustless verification of on-chain and off-chain actions.
Vyom Sharma, Co-Founder & CEO of Hotstuff Labs, said: “Most chains validate blocks. Hotstuff validates and delivers trustless access to money. It’s the Uber for financial validators, routing every flow to the right provider…We’re building a Layer 1 that can connect a trader in Asia, a remittance corridor in LATAM, and a card issuer in Europe on the same settlement fabric.”
The public testnet is now live, inviting traders and quantitative teams to test early perp and spot trading, multi-venue vaults, and market infrastructure built directly on the L1. Builders, fintech firms, and stablecoin infrastructure providers can partner with Hotstuff Labs to enable new trading primitives, payments, FX, and settlement workflows. Validators and node operators can run DracoBFT nodes, benchmark performance, and experiment with the network’s financial service modules.
