Starknet has switched on what it calls the first trustless way to stake Bitcoin on a Layer‑2. Holders of wrapped BTC (WBTC, tBTC, Liquid BTC, SolvBTC) can delegate on Starknet and earn rewards without giving up custody, while those balances also help secure the network.
Starknet isn’t changing Bitcoin’s base layer. BTC on L1 stays proof‑of‑work with no native staking; everything happens on the L2.
The security model leans on zk‑STARK proofs – succinct, post‑quantum‑resistant cryptography that Starknet already runs in production – and tokenized BTC now participates in consensus alongside STRK after an on‑chain vote in August.
Eli Ben‑Sasson, StarkWare’s co‑founder and CEO,
frames the launch as a way to put idle BTC to work without sacrificing trust. In his telling, two threads converge: zero‑knowledge tech he helped pioneer and Bitcoin’s self‑custody ethos. The aim is straightforward – real yield and real participation in consensus powered by your own Bitcoin – even though the base chain is untouched.
To kick‑start usage, the
Starknet Foundation is pointing 100 million STRK (about $12 million) at the BTCFi stack. The pool will back borrowing against BTC, using it as collateral, and routing it into curated on‑chain yield strategies. The stated goal is to make Starknet a low‑cost venue for BTC‑backed leverage and a hub where wrapped Bitcoin is more than a park‑and‑hodl asset.
Another leg lands in October. Digital‑asset firm Re7 Capital plans a BTC‑denominated yield strategy that pays out in Bitcoin, mixing off‑chain derivatives, selected DeFi yield on Starknet and participation in the new BTC staking. It’s built to satisfy institutional requirements, but will also be offered in tokenized form so non‑professionals can access it via on‑chain rails.
So what does “staking BTC on L2” mean in practice? You move a tokenized version of BTC (e.g., WBTC) to Starknet and delegate it to help secure the network. You keep control of the asset rather than handing it to a third‑party custodian; rewards accrue for that contribution to consensus.
The roadmap has been public since mid‑2024, when Starknet said it wanted to expand beyond the Ethereum‑only world and ultimately serve as an execution layer for Bitcoin. Scale is the through‑line: to make BTC useful every day, Starknet argues it needs throughput, programmability and ways for holders to put capital to work.
