Bitcoin is the most trusted digital asset in the world, but every balance, counterparty, and transaction is public forever. strkBTC changes that. It is a Bitcoin wrapper on Starknet, created when native BTC is deposited through the bridge, designed to let holders access private transactions, yield opportunities, and movement between shielded and public states. Supporting the rollout of strkBTC at launch, Atomiq and Garden will serve as key partners for direct BTC to strkBTC transfers, making it easier than ever for Bitcoin holders to make their Bitcoin productive and private.
Atomiq: Infrastructure for Direct BTC to strkBTC
Atomiq is set to launch the infrastructure for direct BTC to strkBTC bridging, bringing Bitcoin liquidity onto Starknet with speed, privacy, and institutional-grade security. Atomiq will provide the infrastructure for a direct native BTC to strkBTC route. The user-facing transfer flow will be made available through a separate frontend, with final launch details to be confirmed.
Atomiq is a trust-minimized cross-chain DEX purpose-built for direct Bitcoin swaps. It uses UTXO-controlled vaults and an onchain Bitcoin light client to verify settlement through Bitcoin’s own consensus, giving users a non-custodial path into Starknet with no per-swap liquidity lock-ups. Rather than relying on escrows or timelocks, Atomiq leans on Bitcoin’s UTXO model as the settlement backbone: a liquidity provider deposits destination assets into a vault on Starknet, while users and LPs cooperatively sign a single Bitcoin transaction that atomically executes both sides of the swap. Once the Bitcoin network confirms the transaction, the vault verifies it via the onchain light client and releases funds on Starknet representing the deposited BTC, minus network fees.
BTC to Starknet transfers settle in roughly 20 minutes, or two Bitcoin confirmations. Transfers from Starknet to BTC through Atomiq’s infrastructure can be sent in a few seconds, following L2 finality. The BTC-side path is slower than a typical cross-chain swap, but the experience remains trust-minimized end to end. Users can also choose whether to shield their strkBTC during the transfer flow, adding optional privacy when moving BTC into Starknet.
Before each transfer, Atomiq screens incoming funds through Elliptic, an independent third-party compliance provider.
Garden: Expanding BTC Distribution
Garden Finance will expand its cross-chain protocol to support BTC and WBTC (Wrapped Bitcoin) swaps into strkBTC, giving Bitcoin holders another route into Starknet.
Garden connects Bitcoin to Starknet through a different model than Atomiq. With over $2B in cumulative DEX volume, it has built a strong profile around intent-based cross-chain execution and has become an important venue for BTC liquidity moving across 18+ ecosystems.
The protocol works through an intent-based system: users sign an intent to swap, solvers compete to fill it, and settlement happens through atomic HTLC-based swaps on both chains. This model supports a range of BTC variants, letting users route from multiple BTC sources into Starknet while preserving non-custodial guarantees from start to finish, in as quickly as 30 seconds.
This will give users an additional strkBTC on-ramp for BTC holders already active across DeFi, with solver competition helping improve execution and atomic HTLC settlement keeping the swap trust-minimized.
What You Can Do With strkBTC
Atomiq and Garden will give Starknet two distinct but complementary BTC on-ramps: Atomiq powers a direct native BTC to strkBTC route through dedicated infrastructure, while Garden expands access from BTC and WBTC liquidity across the broader crypto ecosystem.
Once you hold strkBTC, you can put it to work on Starknet:
Transfer: Use Garden, or access the Atomiq-powered BTC → strkBTC route through a dedicated frontend to be announced soon.
Shield your balance (optional). Keep your strkBTC private, using Ready or Xverse one-click shield your strkBTC to hide the balance onchain.
- Put it to work. strkBTC is composable across Starknet DeFi, providing various ways to earn with your Bitcoin. Lend it on Vesu, stake on Endur, provide liquidity on Ekubo, or use it as collateral and borrow stables. See more use cases with BTCfi.
When strkBTC launches, BTC to strkBTC transfers will be supported through Garden and through an Atomiq-powered route, with the dedicated frontend to be announced soon.
Learn more about strkBTC at https://strkbtc.starknet.io/.
