In this episode of BeaconLayer Podcast, Kenzi Morikawa, Sachi Miyasaki, and Diksha Wells sit down with David Tse, Co-Founder of BabylonChain, to explore a bold idea: using Bitcoin to help secure a broader decentralized world — without wrapping, bridging, or handing your coins to a third party.

David breaks down BabylonChain’s approach to Bitcoin staking and why it matters: enabling bitcoin holders to earn yield on otherwise idle BTC while maintaining self-custody. Instead of bridging BTC to another chain, users lock their bitcoin in a self-custodial way to obtain the rights to help validate Proof-of-Stake chains and earn rewards in return — with the goal of minimizing trust assumptions at every step.

We also talk about BabylonChain’s origin story, what it takes to build through both technical complexity and market cycles, and David’s journey from academia into Web3 entrepreneurship.

Beyond crypto, David is a celebrated professor at Stanford University whose work spans wireless communications, information theory, and broader technology research. He also serves as an advisor to Bain Capital Crypto, where he provides strategic guidance on the evolving blockchain landscape.

Expect a deep conversation on Bitcoin security, staking, and the mindset shift required to build infrastructure meant to last decades.