Glossary: Liquid Network, L-BTC, SideSwap, and Blockstream

Direct definitions of the key technical terms used in DePix integration and Liquid Network transfers.

These are the four technical terms most often mentioned alongside DePix and Isp Banking's infrastructure. Each section below directly answers "what is" each of them.

Liquid Network

Liquid Network is a Bitcoin sidechain, operated by the company Blockstream, that uses a federated validator model instead of open mining, focused on liquidity and confidentiality for exchanges and financial institutions.

Unlike the Bitcoin mainchain, the Liquid Network produces a new block every 1 minute (versus roughly 10 minutes on Bitcoin), which makes confirmations faster. The network is maintained by a federated group of participants (the "Liquid Federation"), made up of exchanges, brokerages, and financial institutions, rather than miners competing under open proof-of-work. This enables:

  • Faster settlement between exchanges and institutions that participate in the federation.
  • Confidential Transactions, which publicly hide the amount and type of asset being transacted.
  • Issuance of digital assets directly on the network (Issued Assets), such as L-BTC, DePix, and USDt-Liquid.

L-BTC (Liquid Bitcoin)

L-BTC (Liquid Bitcoin) is the representation of Bitcoin within the Liquid Network at a 1:1 ratio — every L-BTC is backed by a Bitcoin deposited (peg-in) with the federation and can be converted back (peg-out) at any time.

To obtain L-BTC, a user sends BTC from the Bitcoin mainchain to a Liquid Federation deposit address (peg-in); in exchange, they receive the same amount in L-BTC on the Liquid Network. The reverse process (peg-out) allows redeeming "plain" BTC on the mainchain at any time. Because it circulates on the Liquid Network, L-BTC benefits from:

  • Faster confirmations — blocks every 1 minute, instead of roughly 10 minutes on Bitcoin.
  • Transaction confidentiality, with amounts hidden by default (Confidential Transactions).
  • Compatibility with atomic swaps and direct trades for other Liquid-issued assets, such as DePix itself.

SideSwap

SideSwap is a non-custodial wallet and app for the Liquid Network, used to store, send, receive, and swap assets such as L-BTC, USDt-Liquid, and DePix directly from the user's phone or computer.

Because it is non-custodial, SideSwap never holds the user's private keys — only the user controls their own funds. The app also offers atomic swaps, which let users trade one Liquid asset for another (for example, L-BTC for DePix) in a single transaction, without relying on a centralized intermediary to custody funds during the trade. On Isp Banking, SideSwap is the recommended wallet for receiving DePix and other Liquid Network assets.

  • Non-custodial wallet (the user controls their own keys).
  • Supports L-BTC, USDt-Liquid, DePix, and other Liquid Network assets.
  • Enables atomic swaps between assets, with no third-party custody during the trade.

Blockstream

Blockstream is the Bitcoin infrastructure company that developed and operates the Liquid Network. It was founded in 2014 by Adam Back — creator of Hashcash, a mechanism cited in the Bitcoin whitepaper — alongside other prominent Bitcoin ecosystem developers.

Beyond the Liquid Network, Blockstream is known for other Bitcoin infrastructure projects, such as satellites for broadcasting the Bitcoin blockchain (Blockstream Satellite) and mining and hardware products. In the context of DePix, Blockstream is relevant because it is the organization that maintains and develops the sidechain (Liquid Network) where DePix and L-BTC are issued and transacted.

  • Founded in 2014 by Adam Back and other Bitcoin ecosystem developers.
  • Developer and operator of the Liquid Network, the sidechain where DePix circulates.
  • Also active in block-broadcast satellites, mining, and other Bitcoin infrastructure products.

Learn more

See also our article on what DePix is, the About Isp Banking page, and our AI Transparency page.