Charlie Yechuan Hu is a co-founder and CEO of Bitlayer, a Layer 2 solution for the Bitcoin network. An early adopter of cryptocurrency, he became involved in the space in 2013 and has since worked with multiple blockchain ecosystems, including Ethereum, Polkadot, and Polygon, before focusing on expanding the capabilities of Bitcoin. ^{[1] [2]}

Education

Hu completed a Bachelor of Arts in International Business and Trade between 2009 and 2013. He subsequently pursued postgraduate studies, earning a Master of Science in Corporate Finance from 2013 to 2015. His educational background also includes an affiliation with Nyenrode Business Universiteit in the Netherlands. ^[3]

Career

Early Involvement in Cryptocurrency

Hu's career in the digital asset space began in 2013 as a Bitcoin enthusiast. His perspective on blockchain technology was further shaped by his involvement with the Ethereum ecosystem starting in 2015, which exposed him to the potential of decentralized applications and smart contracts. Around 2019, he was active in the Polkadot ecosystem, participating in early-stage investments. This period of community engagement was one he would later recall as the "2019 Polkadot good old days vibe." Prior to co-founding Bitlayer, Hu also held a significant role at Polygon, where he was responsible for leading the expansion of its ecosystem throughout the Asia-Pacific region. ^{[1] [4] [2]}

In November 2022, during a significant downturn in the crypto market, Hu attended the G20 conference in Bali, Indonesia. There, he met with Binance founder Changpeng Zhao immediately following the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Hu later described this period as a time of personal reflection on the future direction of the web3 industry. ^[4]

Founding of Bitlayer

In 2023, Hu, along with co-founder Kevin He, decided to focus on building a Layer 2 solution for Bitcoin. This decision was heavily influenced by the publication of the BitVM white paper in October 2023, which proposed a method for enabling more complex, Turing-complete contracts on Bitcoin without requiring a network fork. Hu and He officially launched the Bitlayer project at the end of November 2023, with Hu taking on the roles of co-founder and CEO. ^{[2] [3]}

As CEO, Hu has been actively involved in the project's strategic direction, fundraising, and public representation. He has engaged in numerous public speaking events to promote Bitlayer and discuss the future of the Bitcoin ecosystem. These include attending the Bitcoin Amsterdam conference in October 2024 and being a featured speaker at the "Future Trends" online conference, also known as Investfest 2025. His role also involves extensive international travel to foster market growth and partnerships. In April 2025, he traveled to South Korea as part of a strategic initiative to increase Bitlayer's presence in the Korean market. In mid-2025, he traveled to Vietnam for industry events, including a presentation to the SUIHub community on BitVM and the development of Bitcoin DeFi (BTCFi). ^{[4] [3]}

Under his leadership, Bitlayer secured significant funding from institutional investors. The project's Series A extension round, announced in October 2024, was co-led by Polychain Capital and Franklin Templeton. Hu's responsibilities include maintaining relationships with key investors, such as Framework Ventures, which was Bitlayer's lead investor in its initial funding rounds. ^{[4] [3]}

Views and Philosophy

Hu has publicly shared his perspectives on the evolution of the Bitcoin network, the demand for decentralized finance on Bitcoin, and the strategies required for ecosystem growth. His vision is guided by a combination of technical principles and market observations. ^{[2] [1]}

On the Bitcoin Ecosystem's Evolution

Hu identifies the Bitcoin Taproot upgrade of November 2021 as a critical catalyst that enabled the modern Bitcoin ecosystem, paving the way for innovations like Ordinals, BRC-20 tokens, and the Runes protocol. He believes the market has undergone a fundamental shift from being primarily retail-driven to entering an "institutional era." He supports this view by pointing to on-chain data showing a significant increase in large-value transactions (over $100,000), which he interprets as a sign of growing dominance by institutional players such as BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and MicroStrategy. ^[2]

He also emphasizes the long-term security of the Bitcoin network, stating, "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 conduction fees and so on as well.” This view underscores his belief that Layer 2 solutions must contribute to the economic sustainability of the main chain. ^[1]

On BTCFi and Market Demand

Hu has addressed skepticism regarding the demand for Bitcoin-based DeFi, or "BTCFi." He argues that the demand is not artificial but comes from three distinct market segments:

1. Institutions: Liquidity funds and other financial entities require on-chain yield-generating opportunities to cover operational costs and offer new products.
2. Miners: Following the collapse of centralized crypto lenders like BlockFi, mining operations and their asset management teams are seeking secure, on-chain alternatives for yield generation.
3. Retail Investors: This group includes professional investors seeking yield, speculators, and participants motivated by airdrop incentives.

He believes the ultimate goal for any Bitcoin Layer 2 project is to "activate the Bitcoin sitting in cold wallets without custody and feed it into DeFi for yield." In his view, the project that successfully builds industry-leading liquidity will "gain the next round of pricing power." ^[2]

On Strategy and Growth

Hu advocates for a strategy centered on rapid ecosystem development and strong institutional partnerships. He has stated, "I think the speed of growing ecosystem is very important. It's a race of my share developer attention but also the TV right liquidity as well.” To achieve this, he champions a "big mining pools + big institutions" approach, which involves forming strategic alliances with major Bitcoin mining pools to ensure transaction processing and with large financial institutions to secure liquidity and drive adoption. ^{[1] [2]}

While pursuing institutional collaboration, Hu maintains that projects must adhere to core blockchain principles. "I think we try to stay on the first principle of building chain cost minimize and the decentralized base,” he has said, indicating a focus on balancing decentralization with the practical needs of institutional partners. He also views regulatory compliance as a crucial element for the future of cryptocurrency and for Bitcoin's acceptance as a mainstream asset. Furthermore, he stresses the importance of user-friendly applications to attract a wider, non-technical audience to the Bitcoin ecosystem. ^[1]

Achievements

In August 2014, while completing his master's degree, Hu took the Bloomberg Aptitude Test (BAT), an economics and finance-oriented assessment. He achieved a score of 590, which placed him in the 93rd percentile worldwide at the time. ^[3]

Personal Life

Hu is multilingual, with native or bilingual proficiency in Chinese and professional working proficiency in English. He also has elementary proficiency in Dutch and Spanish. ^[3]