Starknet launches strkBTC for ZK-powered shielded Bitcoin on Layer 2
Bitcoin is many things. Private is not one of them. Every transaction lives forever on a public ledger, visible to anyone with a block explorer and mild curiosity. Starknet is betting that zero-knowledge cryptography can change that, launching strkBTC as the first asset built on its new STRK20 privacy framework. The wrapped Bitcoin product went live on Starknets Ethereum Layer 2 network around May 12, 2026, giving users the ability to toggle between public and shielded transaction modes. How strkBTC actually works At its core, strkBTC is a wrapped Bitcoin asset that lives on Starknet, the validity rollup developed by StarkWare. The STRK20 framework underpinning the asset lets users choose between two modes. In public mode, transactions behave like any other on-chain transfer, fully visible and auditable. In shielded mode, zero-knowledge proofs verify that a transaction is valid without revealing the sender, receiver, or amount to outside observers. The minting and burning of strkBTC is overseen by a five-party federation that includes NEAR Protocol, which handles the bridging infrastructure. A federation model means no single entity controls the wrapped asset. Instead, multiple independent parties must coordinate to mint new strkBTC or destroy it when users want their native Bitcoin back. Privacy meets compliance, the hard









