Catenaa, Thursday, June 26, 2025-Threshold Network has launched tBTC on Starknet, enabling Bitcoin holders to trade, lend, and engage in decentralized finance at a fraction of traditional costs, with transactions priced as low as $0.01.
The trust-minimized tBTC protocol allows users to bring Bitcoin into the DeFi ecosystem without custodians or intermediaries. Native BTC can now be minted directly on Starknet via Threshold’s UI or bridged from Ethereum.
This expansion addresses long-standing issues in Bitcoin DeFi, including high fees, slow confirmations, and limited composability.
Starknet’s high throughput — achieving 857 transactions per second in testing, combined with its zero-knowledge architecture, allows for rapid, cost-effective execution of complex financial strategies.
Users can trade tBTC on DEXs like Ekubo, and lending features via the Vesu protocol are scheduled to follow. Future integrations will introduce perpetual contracts, collateralized debt positions, and automated yield vaults.
Threshold’s solution redefines Bitcoin utility. While the average Bitcoin mainnet transaction costs $1.49 and confirmation can take up to an hour, tBTC on Starknet offers near-instant processing at a fraction of the cost. According to Threshold Labs co-founder MacLane Wilkison, this upgrade turns Bitcoin into a fully usable asset rather than a static store of value.
Backed by threshold cryptography and a decentralized signer model, tBTC preserves user custody and eliminates KYC, delivering secure, programmable Bitcoin access. Starknet’s zero-knowledge STARK proofs ensure scalability while maintaining Ethereum-grade security.
As Bitcoin DeFi adoption remains below 0.3% of total value locked, Threshold’s Starknet integration could pave the way for exponential growth across lending, trading, gaming, and real-time payments.
