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KBTC - Bring STARKs and EVM to Bitcoin

Kakarot can power Ethereum-compatible rollups on top of Bitcoin, we call this product KBTC: the first ever EVM proving engine, verifiable on Bitcoin.

Currently, none of the existing Bitcoin scaling solutions has trustless security assumptions. And with so many different L2s and rollups being introduced on top of Bitcoin Layer 1, fragmentation of assets and liquidity will only worsen from here.

With the OP_CAT module reintroduced to Bitcoin, Starkware has announced a plan to expand the Starknet network to Bitcoin, making Starknet the first Layer 2 to settle both on Bitcoin and Ethereum. This is made possible because OP_CAT (and a few other BIPs) would allow ZK-STARK proofs to also be verified directly on Bitcoin. This would enable Bitcoin to scale from here with much more future-proof security and integrity, similar to how ZK-rollups extend Ethereum.

With KBTC, KKRT Labs will enable the following use cases:

  • Transitioning existing Bitcoin EVM rollups into ZK-rollups, thus enabling self-custody and trust-minimization for bridged BTC. This unlocks DeFi and true rollups on Bitcoin, unburdened by custodial bridges.
  • Adding EVM execution capabilities to Starknet as they eventually settle on both Ethereum and Bitcoin. This will ultimately turn Starknet into the first ever ZK-EVM L2 on Bitcoin. Ten years of DeFi will meet the depth of the BTC market. It makes sense to build the DeFi vertical on top of the reserve value.

KBTC is scheduled to go live in production by Q2 2026.