Starknet, an Ethereum layer 2 scaling network, has integrated Bitcoin staking in its ecosystem, allowing Bitcoin (BTC) holders to join the evolving decentralized finance (DeFi) space. This latest development will enable Bitcoin stakers to participate in Starknet consensus as well as earn STRK tokens in rewards. While the integration was completed today, the reward distribution will go live from September 30 onwards.
In a recent X post, Starknet announced that the Bitcoin staking upgrade on the network is now live. It will currently support four major Bitcoin-wrapped tokens, including Wrapped BTC (WBTC), Lightning Bitcoin (LBTC), Threshold Network’s tBTC, and Solv Protocol’s SolvBTC while additional BTC wrappers will be added via governance.
Bitcoin stakers will have 25% power in consensus, with 75% remaining to STRK holders. With this development, validators can also deploy BTC liquidity pools and other DeFi projects can now start leveraging Starknet’s Bitcoin staking infrastructure.
Starknet noted in its last week X post that the unstaking period for Bitcoin will be reduced to seven days, shorter significantly than the standard 15 to 21 days on other platforms.
Bitcoin’s role in DeFi
Since the inception of decentralized finance (DeFi) practices on Ethereum, Bitcoin has mostly been isolated to it. Bitcoin network’s integration with the broader DeFi ecosystem being limited, largely due to technical constraints. However, recent developments have bridged this gap using token wrapping and Bitcoin-specific layer 2 networks.
With Starknet’s current total value locked (TVL) sitting at $155.66 million, this latest addition into its DeFi ecosystem is expected to bring notable inflows as Bitcoin-backed staking is gaining traction.
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