Citrea has just launched on the mainnet; it is the first Bitcoin Layer 2 to combine ZK proofs and BitVM, delivering programmability and scalability. EVM-compatible, 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 Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible application layer built directly on Bitcoin.
This Layer 2 solution should therefore enable all applications used in the Ethereum ecosystem—such as decentralized finance protocols, stablecoins, and NFTs—to be secured by Bitcoin itself, thereby reducing the need for trust.
Citrea relies in particular on zero-knowledge proof (ZK proof) 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—referred to as cBTC—that 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 the piece Bitcoin was missing 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 enjoys a major advantage by integrating, from its launch, into the EVM ecosystem with over $100 billion in TVL, 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, although 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. These include, notably, 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.
As a result, other solutions are emerging within the Bitcoin ecosystem, such as RGB—an ultra-scalable layer focused on privacy—and Arkade, a Layer 2 solution offering nearly unlimited programmability while linking each transaction to genuine on-chain Bitcoin UTXOs.
