Bitcoin launched in 2009 and introduced a globally accessible digital asset whose ownership, supply, and transfers could be publicly verified. It also introduced a gap: financial activity using that asset became public by default.
That gap matters. Universal visibility may not be suitable for all financial use cases. There is an undeniable need for verifiable value in the internet’s financial infrastructure, but total visibility of every transaction is not practical for the individuals, businesses, and institutions that need confidentiality.
Privacy cannot mean opacity. A privacy solution needs to protect confidentiality, while still allowing necessary disclosure where required. That is the essence of contextual integrity: the ability to decide what information is visible, to whom, and under what conditions.
strkBTC addresses that gap by bringing optional privacy features to Bitcoin on Starknet, including Shielding: limiting visibility of balances and transactions while enabling selective disclosure where required. The result is configurable privacy with auditability, making Bitcoin more usable across modern financial systems.
Privacy is one half of a responsible launch. The movement of BTC between Bitcoin and Starknet also needs a clear operational trust model. That is one of the roles of the strkBTC Federation.
Meet The Federation
The strkBTC Federation is a group of five independent institutions that support the movement of BTC into and out of Starknet at launch:
- Twinstake: Institutional-grade, non-custodial staking infrastructure provider
- NEAR Intents: The universal trading protocol powering one-click cross-chain swaps and unified liquidity for onchain markets and tokenized assets
- Luganodes: Institutional-grade, non-custodial blockchain infrastructure provider
- UTXO: Decade-long Bitcoin-focused investment manager, part of the Nakamoto Inc. group
- Xverse: Leading self-custody Bitcoin neobank enabling users to live on Bitcoin and never sell.
Each Federation member is responsible for operating infrastructure that supports the minting, burning, and bridging of BTC and strkBTC between Bitcoin and the Starknet ecosystem in accordance with protocol rules and without custody of user assets.
“Twinstake is pleased to join the strkBTC Federation as a signer, bringing our institutional operating standards and non-custodial infrastructure expertise to support Bitcoin interoperability between Bitcoin and Starknet.” , Andrew Gibb, CEO, Twinstake
“UTXO Management is proud to support innovation in the Bitcoin space as a member of the strkBTC Federation. We believe that adding optional privacy features to Bitcoin delivers real value for end users who want greater control over their personal financial information while preserving the verifiability that makes Bitcoin unique.” – Guillaume Girard, Investment Associate, UTXO Management
“Luganodes is proud to be part of the Federation and support strkBTC with secure, institutional-grade validator infrastructure and looks forward to contributing to the network’s long-term resilience.” – Anuj Shankar CEO, Lugandoes
“Making Bitcoin more usable across ecosystems requires both strong infrastructure and better abstraction of complexities. At NEAR Intents, we’re focused on removing complexity across chains, and supporting the Federation is a natural step toward making Bitcoin more accessible while enabling secure, flexible BTC movement.” – Harshit Tiwari, Head of Ecosystem Strategy, NEAR
“You can’t earn, borrow, and spend on Bitcoin if every transaction you make is public. Privacy is what turns Bitcoin from a store of value into a financial operating system. strkBTC is the missing layer, and Xverse is where people will use it to live on their Bitcoin without ever selling.” – Ken Liao, Founder and CEO, Xverse
The Road to Trust Minimization
The Federation is not the end state for strkBTC. It is the first phase of the roadmap toward full trust minimization. At launch, strkBTC relies on a Federation of independent signers that supports minting and burning between BTC and strkBTC. This creates a clear and bounded trust model, operated by known independent entities with defined roles and transparent participation .
The roadmap will progressively harden. Phase 2 adds Bitcoin-native verification techniques, including post-quantum security (QSB). Phase 3 introduces a trust-minimized BitVM. Phase 4 arrives at a fully trustless OP_CAT. These phases are indicative and subject to ongoing development, research and governance decisions. The foundation for this roadmap is already in place.These phases are indicative and subject to ongoing development, research and governance decisions.
“The goal was not just to launch private Bitcoin on Starknet, but to keep hardening it until the trust assumptions disappear. strkBTC goes live with a credible Federation, then moves through a staged roadmap toward quantum-secure Bitcoin, and stronger Bitcoin-native verification through deeper trust minimization. What we end up with is private Bitcoin that people can actually use, without giving up the verifiability that made Bitcoin worth caring about in the first place.” – Damian Chen, VP Growth, Starknet Foundation
strkBTC launches with five respected institutions in the Bitcoin and staking ecosystem: Twinstake, NEAR Intents, Luganodes, UTXO, and Xverse. Together they bring credibility across institutional staking, cross-chain infrastructure, infrastructure management operations, Bitcoin-native investment, and end-user custody. Fifteen years after Bitcoin launched, the institutions that have helped to define the ecosystem are now helping to support broader use cases for Bitcoin. The goal is simple: enable additional utility for Bitcoin within the Starknet ecosystem .
Get started at https://strkbtc.starknet.io/.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment, legal, or financial advice. It does not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation to buy and is not an endorsement of any product. Participation involves risk. Users should do their own research and/or consult with qualified professional advisors before making any decisions. Participation will involve screening at points of entry and exit and complete privacy cannot be guaranteed since certain activity may be visible through a viewing key (where required for regulatory purposes). No representation or warranty is made regarding the security, availability or performance of the protocol or related infrastructure. Federation members act as independent infrastructure providers – they are not fiduciaries, custodians, agents or intermediaries for users. No representation or warranty is made regarding the security, availability or performance of the protocol or related infrastructure.
