Starknet Unveils Bitcoin Staking With 100M STRK Incentives for BTCFi Growth

Highlights:

• Starknet unveils bitcoin staking with a 100M STRK incentive program.
• Wrapped BTC assets can now secure Starknet and earn rewards.
• Re7 introduces an institutional Bitcoin yield fund on Starknet.

Starknet has unveiled Bitcoin staking on its Ethereum Layer 2 network, another major milestone in BTCFi. The migration enables the holders of the wrapped Bitcoin-based assets, such as WBTC, LBTC, tBTC, and SolvBTC, to stake on Starknet. Users are able to gain rewards and be assured of the security of the network without losing ownership of the assets.

This launch is based on the BTCFi roadmap approved in August and the Starknet upgrade of September 15. The team states that this is the first trustless Bitcoin staking solution on any Layer 2. The mechanism does not change the base layer of Bitcoin, which is still proof-of-work. Rather, wrapped versions of BTC are part of the Starknet consensus, which is secured through zk-STARK cryptography.

1/ Bitcoin doesn’t change. But what you can do with it just did.

From the June 2024 announcement that Starknet would scale Bitcoin, to the product rollouts of March 2025, the path has been clear.

BTCFi on Starknet is where that momentum now leads pic.twitter.com/dznkDJYsK8

— Starknet (BTCFi arc) (@Starknet) September 30, 2025

Incentives and Institutional Integration

A 100 million STRK incentive program is being backed by the Starknet Foundation to launch the network. This program, named BTCFi Season, will spur liquidity, lending, and borrowing of stablecoins on Starknet. The foundation seeks to ensure the network is the cheapest to use with BTC as collateral by rewarding borrowing over Bitcoin.

In addition to these incentives, Starknet has entered into a partnership with Re7 Capital. The asset management company, which handles more than $1 billion, will launch an institutional-quality Bitcoin yield fund. This product will be made available to retailers via MidasRWA, a tokenized version of Starknet. The combination of this development is derivatives, structured strategies of DeFi, and direct staking.

1/ Announcing the Re7 BTC Yield Strategy

Re7 is launching an institutional-grade strategy to transform #Bitcoin from a static store of value into a productive, yield-bearing asset on @Starknet.

It’s time to make your BTC work for you. pic.twitter.com/n2URVsxS4t

— Re7 Capital (@Re7Capital) September 30, 2025

Re7 will also promote liquidity on Ekubo, a trading platform of Starknet. Ekubo will facilitate the creation of smoother flows between BTC and ETH and STRK and the stablecoins. By doing so, Starknet is establishing itself as a node that can be used by institutions to deploy Bitcoin in a central manner.

Partnerships and Ecosystem Growth

Starknet has also incorporated such tools as Xverse wallet, Hyperlane, and bridges developed by Atomiq Labs and Garden Finance to enhance connectivity. The partnerships with LayerZero, BitGo, and Stargate Finance will further increase institutional and retail access to the BTCFi ecosystem.

The BTCFi rollout is being supported by contributors like WBTC, Threshold, Lombar,d, and Solv. Such initiatives aim to facilitate the shift of Bitcoin to decentralized finance but retain high standards of security and transparency.

Moreover, Starknet staking already has thousands of delegators and validators staking on STRK. The network incorporates the most valuable cryptocurrency into its security setup by introducing BTC. Eli Ben-Sasson, the CEO of StarkWare, stated that this breakthrough fulfils the vision of scaling Bitcoin with zero-knowledge technology.

As Ben-Sasson also pointed out, this move brings Bitcoin from a static store of value to an active financial instrument. He said that now Bitcoin can yield and defend the security of another decentralized network. The Starknet team feels that this dual role will enable decentralized systems. Furthermore, it will equip Bitcoin to play its part as a global reserve asset. Following the announcement, STRK has surged 10%, indicating a rise in confidence in the growth of BTCFi.