Blockchain venture studio Thesis has unveiled Mezo, a Bitcoin layer-2 network, from stealth with a $21 million fundraising round led by Pantera Capital

The fundraising also involved Multicoin, Hack VC, ParaFi Capital, Nascent, Draper Associates, Primitive Ventures, Asymmetric Ventures and Dan Held, and DCF God, Thesis said Tuesday. Mezo is a "permissionless Bitcoin economic layer that leverages a neutral smart contract infrastructure" to offer a wide range of applications for users, Thesis said. It is designed to amplify the Bitcoin blockchain’s infrastructure and provide cheap and fast transactions by allowing users "to access applications that use Bitcoin for everything, enabling a thriving circular economy," the venture firm said. Mezo will go live with support from Thesis’ bitcoin-backed Ethereum token tBTC, which allows users to get bitcoin into Ethereum’s decentralized-finance (DeFi) ecosystem. “Our goal with Mezo is to extend the Bitcoin network to bring 25% of the world’s economy on-chain – roughly in line with the size of the U.S. economy today,” Matt Luongo, CEO of Thesis and founder of Mezo, said in the release. Mezo allows users to hold their bitcoin while earning a yield for securing the network.

“Mezo means you can HODL your BTC with purpose, powering the Bitcoin economy, replacing vital online infrastructure, and unlocking the full potential of your BTC,” Luongo added.