Citrea has just been launched on the mainnet; it is the first Bitcoin Layer 2 solution combining ZK proofs and BitVM, delivering programmability and scalability. Compatible with the EVM, it enables the execution of decentralized finance applications, stablecoins, and NFTs, while being directly anchored to the Bitcoin blockchain.
Citrea brings more Bitcoin-secured programmability
This week, Citrea was finally launched on the mainnet; it is the first application layer compatible with Ethereum’s EVM built directly on Bitcoin.
This Layer 2 should therefore enable all applications used in the Ethereum ecosystem—such as decentralized finance protocols, stablecoins, and NFTs—to be secured by Bitcoin itself, mitigating the need for trust.
Citrea relies in particular on zero-knowledge proof (ZK) technology and its rollups, which enable the rapid and low-cost processing of a large number of transactions, while performing regular anchoring to the Bitcoin blockchain.
Thanks to BitVM and the Clementine bridge, Citrea can circulate BTC, known as cBTC, which is verifiable on its platform. Citrea also offers a stablecoin, the ctUSD, issued by MoonPay, which guarantees a 1:1 peg through a reserve backed by short-term U.S. Treasury bills and liquid dollars.
Is Citrea what Bitcoin needed to scale?
BitVM is a technology that enables the creation of rollups on Bitcoin without having to modify its consensus rules. Inspired by Ethereum’s optimistic rollups, it relies on a fraud-proof system and a challenge-response protocol, where any suspicious transaction can be challenged if deemed fraudulent.
BitVM’s goal is to make Bitcoin more programmable by enabling the execution of complex computations—including so-called Turing-complete contracts—while preserving the integrity, security, and decentralization of the main blockchain.
While Citrea benefits from a major advantage by integrating into the EVM ecosystem—with over $100 billion in TVL—from its launch, other infrastructures are pursuing the same goal of expanding Bitcoin’s capabilities by adopting approaches more in line with the cypherpunk spirit that inspired Bitcoin in its early days.
Indeed, while BitVM allows Citrea to anchor and secure its operations on Bitcoin, its infrastructure is not free from certain limitations inherited from Ethereum and its rollups. Notably, there is a relative dependence on stablecoins, as well as centralization of the sequencer and provers, which could theoretically lead to transaction censorship, even though ZK proofs guarantee the integrity and validity of the rollup’s states.
The Bitcoin ecosystem is thus seeing the emergence of other solutions such as RGB, an ultra-scalable layer focused on privacy, or Arkade, a Layer 2 solution offering nearly unlimited programmability, while linking each transaction to genuine on-chain Bitcoin UTXOs.
