Unlocking Bitcoin’s True Potential: Threshold’s tBTC Brings BTC to Starknet and Beyond
Bitcoin: The Immovable Treasure of the DeFi World
Bitcoin is known for its security, scarcity, and censorship resistance. However, when it comes to decentralized finance (DeFi), it is largely “locked up” with immense value but lacking on-chain fungibility. Only about 1.15% of the 19+ million BTC in circulation are actually involved in DeFi, which equates to ~180,000–220,000 BTC
tBTC A Decentralized and Trust-Minimized Bridge
tBTC developed by Threshold Network is a fully decentralized Bitcoin wrapping solution with a threshold signing model of 51/100 nodes. No single point of failure and full on-chain transparency
Wilkison: “tBTC is the longest running decentralized, trustless wrapper Bitcoin… No centralized custodian.”
Since 2020, tBTC has spread to 8 different chains (Ethereum, Solana, Arbitrum…) with over $450 million TVL and $3.6 billion in bridge volume
“Wherever Bitcoin goes, tBTC is there” strategy
Threshold aims to make tBTC the default bridge to bring BTC into every DeFi ecosystem especially those with low fees and scalability like Starknet
“The long-term strategy is to be present wherever DeFi happens… allowing native BTC to move freely and securely across all chains, without compromise.”
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Starknet The Perfect Strategic Partner
Starknet ZK‑rollup on Ethereum with fees as low as $0.01/transaction, throughput up to 857 TPS and instant confirmation, making it the ideal choice for enabling BTC on‑chain
Wilkison: “Starknet is one of the most advanced Layer 2 ZK-rollups… perfectly aligned with Threshold’s mission”
What does tBTC on Starknet enable?
Since launch (11/6/2025), users can:
Mint tBTC directly from BTC address to Starknet
Trade tBTC on DEX Ekubo with super low fees and minimal slippage
Support for borrowing/crediting coming soon via Vesu similar to the Ethereum model
More integrations in the future: perpetuals, CDPs, yield vaults, oracles…
Low fees, many new applications
Bitcoin’s main transaction fee is nearly $1.49/transaction, but now only $0.01 when using tBTC on Starknet
Breaking the economic limits of the DeFi problem: DeFi can now provide micro-financing, pay by the second, gaming with BTC, automate strategies…
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Secure and truly decentralized
TBTC uses threshold cryptography: BTC is in a multi‑sig address, no one has full control. Starknet adds security with STARK proofs that verify thousands of transactions with just one proof
The Longer Look: BTCFi Bitcoin as the Mainstream Capital
MacLane Wilkison believes tBTC will fuel the Bitcoin-based decentralized finance wave with stablecoins, yield vaults, structured lending products, and cross-chain collateral
“Bitcoin is a censorship-resistant asset. DeFi is a permissionless system that combines the two that will unlock the future of financial freedom.”
Conclusion
Old Challenge: BTC remains largely excluded from DeFi due to high fees and limited scalability.
New Solution: tBTC, a trust-minimizing BTC wrap, is now available on Starknet, paving the way for $0.01-fee trading, lending, and high speed.
Big Impact: BTC is no longer “gold in the vault” but a flexible, composable, cross-chain asset that will play a central role in the next generation of DeFi.