Secure sBTC, Earn Bitcoin
Get rewarded in Bitcoin for maintaining the sBTC protocol and be a part of the open-membership network that is unlocking Bitcoin DeFi all over the world.
What is sBTC?
sBTC enables the Bitcoin economy
sBTC is a 1:1 Bitcoin-backed asset, enabling users to put their BTC to work in DeFi, dApps, and more.
- DecentralizedThe protocol is supported by a wide network of entities that sign transactions and ensure that no single entity can control, manipulate, or corrupt the protocol.
- Open-membershipAnyone can become an sBTC signer and technology partners make getting started simple.
- Censorship-resistantsBTC operations happen on the Bitcoin main chain, meaning that external actors cannot censor these operations.
- DecentralizedThe protocol is supported by a wide network of entities that sign transactions and ensure that no single entity can control, manipulate, or corrupt the protocol.
- Open-membershipAnyone can become an sBTC signer and technology partners make getting started simple.
- Censorship-resistantsBTC operations happen on the Bitcoin main chain, meaning that external actors cannot censor these operations.
Become a Signer
Get Started
By joining the network of sBTC signers, you participate in the future of the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Secure the next generation of Bitcoin products
Signers run critical infrastructure to support the development of Bitcoin DeFi, NFTs & more.
Contribute to Bitcoin scalability
As Bitcoin becomes congested and fees rise, Layer 2 solutions like sBTC solve a critical pain point for companies and users alike.
Earn BTC rewards
By securing the sBTC protocol, signers are compensated proportionally to their stacked STX.
Get Signer Resources & Guidance
Signing functionality will go live with the Nakamoto release expected in April 2024. Get a head start by reviewing the current technical documentation or enter your information for additional resources and guidance courtesy of the sBTC Working Group.
You will be subscribed to important sBTC email updates, you may unsubscribe at any time.
How does it work?
sBTC enables the Bitcoin economy
Each request requires approval from 70% of signers before it can be processed. As a signer, this work of processing requests is largely automated and handled by the software.
In order to participate, signers are required to lock up STX tokens (the gas token on the Stacks network), and in exchange for their work, signers earn BTC rewards that are generated by Stacks’ consensus mechanism Proof of Transfer.
In order to participate, signers are required to lock up STX tokens (the gas token on the Stacks network), and in exchange for their work, signers earn BTC rewards that are generated by Stacks’ consensus mechanism Proof of Transfer.
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DepositTo mint sBTC, users deposit an equivalent amount of BTC in a script on the Bitcoin blockchain. This script is controlled by the network of signers, who then mint sBTC and send it to the user’s Stacks address. -
WithdrawTo burn sBTC, users submit a peg-out transaction to the network. Signers process those requests and send BTC to the user’s Bitcoin address.
FAQ
Learn more
sBTC is an open-membership protocol, meaning anyone can participate in signing by locking their STX in consensus. The minimum amount of STX required to become a signer is dynamically set and currently requires ~90,000 STX.
Signers can choose to operate on their own or delegate STX to a signer pool instead, if they don’t have enough STX to sign on their own or don’t want the overhead of running the software themselves.
Signers can choose to operate on their own or delegate STX to a signer pool instead, if they don’t have enough STX to sign on their own or don’t want the overhead of running the software themselves.
To be a signer, you need to run `bitcoind` in addition to a Stacks node. Minimum system requirements include:
The cost of running a signer node is estimated to be $10-15 per month for hosting. Please see our hardware and cost estimates page for more details. Instructions for running a Bitcoin full node and Stacks node can be found here.
- CPU
- RAM
- Storage
The cost of running a signer node is estimated to be $10-15 per month for hosting. Please see our hardware and cost estimates page for more details. Instructions for running a Bitcoin full node and Stacks node can be found here.
sBTC is scheduled to be released in Q2 2024, as part of the Nakamoto release, which will result in significant improvements in speed and security for the network. A more detailed roadmap can be found here.
Get Started
Become an sBTC Signer