Bitcoin is untapped.

Bitcoin is untapped.

Here is how to tap into the untapped.

$2.1 trillion.

That's the worth of Bitcoin in circulation.

Yet, it can't do what $80 billion in Solana does:

The Governance, DeFi, Perpetuals, NFTs, and more.

With BTC, all you can do is hold.

@citrea_xyz is finally giving Bitcoin the flexibility it deserves.

Here’s how ↡

If you check coinmarketcap.com,

you will see that Bitcoin is the cryptocurrency with the biggest market cap.

But for some reasons (which you will find out soon), Solana supports a wider range of DeFi applications and protocols than Bitcoin.

You may be wondering, why is this so?

Isn't Bitcoin the most valuable crypto asset?

How is Solana doing more even with less volume?

Initially, Bitcoin was made so people could send money directly to each other without needing banks or middlemen.

Because of this, it was built with strong security thereby limiting its programmability.

But since then, it has moved to being a means of storing wealth and

hasn't had any other use case.

Whereas,

Solana on the other hand, was built with high programmability and scalability.

It supports smart contracts and enables decentralized applications like DEXs, lending platforms, games, and NFT marketplaces.

Solana became programmable money (i.e., digital money that can be controlled by smart contracts).

Bitcoin didn't. It remained secure and decentralized but lacked flexibility.

This created a gap, one that Citrea is closing.

@citrea_xyz is the first roll-up bringing real applications (₿apps) to Bitcoin using zero-knowledge proofs.

It does this while still relying on Bitcoin’s strong security

thereby making Bitcoin more powerful without compromising its core design.

This was made possible by Clementine, a BitVM-based bridge that connects Citrea to Bitcoin and verifies zero-knowledge proofs on-chain.

₿apps are Bitcoin-native applications that run on Citrea’s zk-rollup.

They put Bitcoin’s liquidity to work, allow users to earn yield, make transactions private,

and give room to developers to build on the world’s most secure base layer, Bitcoin.

For ₿apps to work, certain infrastructures need to be in place:

➛ Zero-knowledge proofs – to verify computations off-chain without revealing sensitive data.

➛ BitVM – to bridge Bitcoin and validate proofs on-chain.

➛ Bitcoin’s blockchain – for data availability and final settlement.

Together these enable ₿apps functionality.

What this means is that Bitcoin can finally become more than just a store of value.

It will support applications, trading, and even yield farming without compromising Bitcoin’s security.

People will be able to earn, spend, borrow, and build on Bitcoin.

Compared to other Bitcoin L2s, Citrea’s security model is stronger.

Most Bitcoin L2s rely on external validators or centralized bridges to secure their systems.

@citrea_xyz is different.

It uses zk rollup that generates cryptographic proofs and posts them directly to Bitcoin.

Citrea’s bridge logic is actually enforced by Bitcoin itself and not some third-party validator set.

Thanks to BitVM.

This means every app and transaction on Citrea automatically inherits Bitcoin’s native security.

So how does Citrea work?

First, it uses a bridge that locks BTC on-chain and issues corresponding tokens in the zk rollup.

Then, all transactions happen off-chain in the rollup environment,

where zk proofs verify that all transitions are valid without revealing sensitive data.

Finally, these proofs are sent back to Bitcoin’s blockchain, ensuring settlement and finality.

What opportunity does this present for users and developers?

Devs can now tap into Bitcoin's liquidity and security while getting:

➛ Scalability from zk rollups ➛ Composability between ₿apps ➛ A secure bridge to Bitcoin and ➛ Full on-chain settlement.

There is also a community just for ₿apps developers.

It's called @CitreaOrigins.

It is a community of developers that collaborates with Citrea ecosystem builders to grow ₿apps from the ground up.

The users of ₿apps are not left out.

See this.

Users can finally put their Bitcoin to work with ₿apps.

As a user, you can:

➛ Earn yield on BTC ➛ Trade on Bitcoin-native DEXs ➛ Use Bitcoin-backed stablecoins ➛ Gain privacy with zk tech.

These are some ₿apps you can get started with ↡

➛ @tanaribtc – a platform for payments, stablecoins, and BTC investments.

➛ @nectraxyz – a stablecoin protocol powered by BTC collateral.

➛ @SatsumaDEX – a decentralized exchange for BTC trading.

➛ @crest_btc – a self-custodial, RFQ-powered trading app.

Currently, @citrea_xyz is in its testnet phase and open to the public for testing.

All the details you need to get started are in the tweet below ↡

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In the past,

Some projects have tried building on Bitcoin and failed

due to technical limitations and lack of infrastructure.

Citrea saw what they did wrong and took a better and scalable approach to it.

Right now, only about 1% of Bitcoin is actively used beyond holding.

The Bitcoin market is untapped.

Citrea is unlocking it by bringing real utility to Bitcoin through ₿apps that enable trading, lending, and more.

₿apps will redefine how we use Bitcoin.

There will be less of Bitcoin just went up and more of how can I do more with my Bitcoin.

Thank you @scribble_dao and @tanmaytarte3 for the opportunity to write about @citrea_xyz.

To stay updated with when Citrea goes live, follow their socials:

➛ X: @citrea_xyz

➛ Website: citrea.xyz

➛ Citrea Origin : origins.citrea.xyz (for the devs)

➛ Testnets: citrea.xyz/bridge (to test the ₿apps)

➛ Docs: docs.citrea.xyz