₿ Zest Protocol is testing USDC loans backed by native Bitcoin. Its new Bitcoin Collateral Vaults let users deposit BTC directly on Bitcoin L1 and borrow USDC on Ethereum without using wBTC or a bridge. The demo is live on mainnet with collateral limits per wallet while Zest tests the system at small scale. The goal is to reduce reliance on centralized custodians in BTCFi. For now, this is a limited demo, not the full production rollout. bitcoin:native