A Bitcoin L2 for Builders
Activate the Bitcoin Economy: sBTC is a 1:1 Bitcoin-backed asset on the Stacks Bitcoin L2 that will allow developers to leverage the security, network effects, and .5T in latent capital of the Bitcoin network.
Build DeFi, NFTs, and Apps for Bitcoiners with sBTC
Meet the Signers
Features
sBTC Basics
With sBTC, builders unlock Bitcoin as a fully programmable asset — opening the door for Bitcoin-backed DeFi, NFTs, and more.
Bitcoin security
The Stacks layer and sBTC state automatically forks with Bitcoin L1. Further, all transactions settle to the Bitcoin L1 with 100% Bitcoin finality, giving strong security guarantees.
Open and decentralized
The network is operated by a dynamic set of economically incentivized open-membership signers, not a set of federated or centralized parties.
Censorship resistant
sBTC operations happen on the Bitcoin main chain, meaning that external actors in the layer cannot censor these operations.
Inexpensive
Threshold signers are incentivized with BTC rewards from the Stacks layer's consensus, giving them strong economic incentives to participate without introducing additional fees.
On-chain Bitcoin oracle
There is no dependency on an external Oracle for peg operations as it uses a unique price oracle implemented on-chain on the Bitcoin L1.
Native Bitcoin yield
Because of the unique properties of Stacks, builders can create applications with sBTC that leverage the built-in bitcoin yield of the protocol to reward users, bootstrap liquidity, & more.
Visibility into Bitcoin state
sBTC is built on Stacks, meaning it comes with native visibility into Bitcoin-state through its decidable, secure smart contract language.
Have ideas for key features or integrations? Get involved and help extend and improve the tooling and technical ecosystem around sBTC.
Roadmap
sBTC
As development continues, more detailed plans will be shared by the sBTC Stacks Resident via weekly email updates.
Q4 2023

Select developers and founders have been invited to work with the sBTC Developer Release.
Q1 2024

An sBTC SIP will be released along with updated tooling as the Nakamoto upgrade is finished.
Bitcoin Halving

Assuming a successful vote, the Nakamoto release of Stacks will begin on mainnet.
Fast Follow

2-3 months after Nakamoto, sBTC is expected. A more detailed rollout plan will be shared in April.
Build
Get involved
Be among the first to build on Bitcoin using sBTC.
Jump into the details with the early documentation on Github.
Receive weekly updates in your inbox covering the sBTC project.
Use Cases
Get involved
Bitcoin DeFi
Bitcoin DeFi will enable decentralized ways to earn yield on BTC. Yield is generated by putting idle capital to work, for example through lending or securing a network or application.
Scaling Ordinals
As Ordinals continue to grow, moving certain functions to the L2 can enable faster and cheaper experiences for users while enabling richer experiences powered by smart contracts.
Scaling BRC-20
BRC-20's are in their infancy, but we've already seen they can congest the network. sBTC could allow BRC-20's to leverage smart contracts while alleviating pressure on the Bitcoin L1.
Trust-minimized asset swapping
sBTC can be used to swap assets. Users can swap their BTC for other assets in a decentralized way, without having to rely on centralized exchanges.
Managing BTC risk
Bitcoin price can fluctuate rapidly. sBTC allows users to manage BTC risk by swapping it for stable coins during periods of high volatility.
Lending & Borrowing Bitcoin
sBTC-powered applications can make it safer to use BTC as collateral to borrow against. Bitcoin's limited supply and fast transferability makes it a perfect asset to borrow against.

In addition, it will be easy to build experiences that allow users to lock up their Bitcoin in a smart contract and borrow from a network of lenders including institutions and individuals.
Bitcoin DeFi
Bitcoin DeFi will enable decentralized ways to earn yield on BTC. Yield is generated by putting idle capital to work, for example through lending or securing a network or application.
Scaling Ordinals
As Ordinals continue to grow, moving certain functions to the L2 can enable faster and cheaper experiences for users while enabling richer experiences powered by smart contracts.
Lending & Borrowing
sBTC-powered applications can make it safer to use BTC as collateral to borrow against. Bitcoin's limited supply and fast transferability makes it a perfect asset to borrow against.
Trust-minimized swaps
sBTC can be used to swap assets in a trust-minimized way. Users can swap their BTC for other assets in a decentralized way, without having to rely on centralized exchanges.
Scaling BRC-20
BRC-20's are in their infancy, but we've already seen they can congest the network. sBTC could allow BRC-20's to leverage smart contracts while alleviating pressure on the Bitcoin L1.
Managing BTC risk
Bitcoin is a volatile asset, and its price can fluctuate rapidly. sBTC allows users to manage BTC risk by swapping it for stablecoins during periods of high volatility.
Reading
Recommended

  • sBTC Overview Deck
    by sBTC Working Group

  • sBTC Whitepaper
    December 2022

  • Nakamoto Whitepaper
    December 2022

  • SIP-021
    Trustless Two-way peg

  • Unlocking Bitcoin’s Full Potential With sBTC
    by Hiro Systems

  • Introducing sBTC and the ‘Nakamoto’ Release
    by Stacks Foundation

  • Tokenomics Twitter Thread
    by MattySTX

  • Introducing sBTC
    Stacker Chats
    Video with Muneeb Ali
FAQs
Key design discussions and important questions
Key design discussions & decisions

In the original Nakamoto and sBTC whitepapers, there was a proposed design imposing a Bitcoin-block delay of 150 for sBTC deposit and withdrawal transactions. However, this design has been replaced with a much better alternative.

There is an open discussion on enabling sBTC as a gas asset at the protocol level. This community post highlights some of the advantages and invites other community members to weight in with their perspectives.

Unlike other BTC bridges, sBTC is not supported by a central custodian or a federation: instead, sBTC is secured by an open network of signers, making sBTC the most decentralized, Bitcoin-backed asset. This article covers the fundamentals of the sBTC security model.