Bitcoin rewrites the rules of money. It lets anyone, anywhere, hold and move value—no banks, no borders, no permission. As a company that pioneered zero-knowledge based scaling solutions, StarkWare stands committed to helping Bitcoin scale and reach 1 billion users, all the while upholding Bitcoin’s core principles.
But what does being a Bitcoin Standard company mean in practice?
In a January article, one of our leading team members suggested a Bitcoin Standard Playbook—a set of actions a company should take when adopting the Bitcoin Standard. In this article, we will try to candidly test StarkWare against the leading values outlined in the Bitcoin Standard Playbook to check whether we can consider ourselves a company that is operating under the Bitcoin Standard.
Our mission
Since the Bitcoin Standard is about transparency, we must mention what we are building and why. StarkWare was founded to solve the inherent scalability problem rooted in the way blockchain systems are designed using zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs. ZK tech makes scaling these systems possible by settling a Layer 2 on the Layer 1 blockchain (like Bitcoin and Ethereum) while inheriting the base layer’s security.
After pioneering the use of ZK proofs to scale applications on Ethereum, StarkWare played a key role in developing Starknet, an L2 on Ethereum with sub-cent fees and near-instant transaction confirmation. After introducing unprecedented scale, Starknet is now set to become the first fully decentralized L2 on Ethereum.
On March 11, Starknet also announced plans to settle on Bitcoin, with the goal of becoming the sole decentralized L2 capable of scaling and settling Bitcoin in addition to Ethereum. Starknet will become the execution layer of both chains, joining the “big two” blockchain OGs.
We believe Bitcoin is the future of money. The world will become a better place if Bitcoin’s decentralization, transparency, and censorship resistance grows into a viable alternative to traditional financial institutions. The main barriers to achieving that goal are twofold: Bitcoin’s lack of scalability and its inability to natively support applications beyond simple buying, selling, and transferring.
If we want Bitcoin to reach and serve a billion people in the future, we need to lift both of these limitations. Turning Starknet into the execution layer of Bitcoin, in addition to Ethereum, will do exactly that. Only when Bitcoin is powered with the algorithmic capability to serve thousands of transactions a second and to support more complex applications will it be able to compete with traditional financial institutions.
Because this is the mission and vision we believe in—bringing scale to Ethereum AND Bitcoin through our battle-tested ZK technology—StarkWare has always considered itself an integral part of the Bitcoin ecosystem and a company that follows the Bitcoin Standard.
3 tests for a Bitcoin Standard Company
In order to candidly examine if we as a company follow the Bitcoin standard, we’ll walk through the steps outlined in “The Bitcoin Standard.” We believe living up to these values is just as important as preaching them.
Test 1: Holding and using Bitcoin
StarkWare holds a significant strategic Bitcoin reserve and has expanded it by 40% over the last several months. We are committed to Bitcoin’s long-term potential and plan to further grow our reserves over time.
StarkWare is also open to both accepting Bitcoin payments and paying our vendors in Bitcoin, in accordance with our belief in the importance of adopting and supporting decentralized financial systems. We do not currently pay our employees in Bitcoin, but we plan to reevaluate that to see if we can find a regulatory path forward. This is something we will hopefully change in the future.
Test 2: Being part of the community
We are committed to open-source innovation, building our products in an open-source environment while also contributing to other projects, such as Cashu and Nostr, within the ecosystem.
StarkWare also runs full Bitcoin nodes as part of our commitment to the network. This helps us be part of the community from within and not just external spectators.
Our team actively participates in events, meetups, and podcasts, contributing written content and speaking sessions and hosting events to foster community engagement. We encourage our team to advocate for and participate in the Bitcoin community, all while educating about scaling Bitcoin with ZK proofs.
Test 3: Support and invest in advancing Bitcoin research
We have dedicated members of our team focused on Bitcoin research and development. For example, Avihu Levy and Victor Kobolov, two leading Bitcoin researchers on our team, recently published their research about the Bitcoin collider script that displays a breakthrough solution for scaling Bitcoin without changing its current setup. StarkWare partnered with external researchers to build a POC around a covenant implementation with OP_CAT. That’s on top of a partnership with Weikeng Chen to research and build a Circle STARK verifier on top of an OP_CAT-enabled Bitcoin. All of our efforts have been open-sourced for the benefit of the community.
The partnerships described above are only the beginning. StarkWare has created the StarkWare Bitcoin Fund to strategically invest in projects focused on advancing Bitcoin technology and the overall ecosystem—and we’ve already provided several teams with grants to get their projects running.
Lastly, we are committed to supporting Bitcoin research and technology through donations to non-profits. Two initiatives to which we’re especially proud to contribute are:
- The Human Rights Foundation’s Bitcoin Development Fund: Empowers people and projects leveraging Bitcoin and related freedom technologies to promote human rights.
- OpenSats: Which helps provide sustainable funding for free and open-source contributors working on freedom tech and projects that help Bitcoin flourish.
Wrap up
For us at Starkware, being a Bitcoin Standard company is not a goal or a means to an end—it’s an ongoing journey. As shown above, we consider ourselves compliant with some of the characteristics that define a Bitcoin Standard company. We hope that in the near future—as we continue to research, build, and invest in this space—we will be considered a full-fledged Bitcoin Standard company by the community.
Ultimately, incorporating Bitcoin into your company’s DNA helps you demonstrate your commitment to an honest, open, and censorship-free financial system. We invite our community partners to join us on this journey.
