As the world, from Wall Street to Washington, fixates on Bitcoin’s price, a deeper evolution is underway. We are moving beyond the “digital gold” narrative. The question is no longer just if you hold Bitcoin, but what you can do with it. How can the world’s original cryptocurrency become a productive, active asset that powers a new generation of decentralized finance?
Today, Starknet and its pioneering partner, the prestigious crypto asset investment firm Re7, answer that question.
For years, Starknet has been relentlessly focused on scaling Ethereum. But their vision has always been bigger: creating a unified, scalable, and secure fabric for the entire blockchain ecosystem.
In June 2024, StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson drew a direct line from his 2013 prediction that Bitcoin could scale trustlessly to the present day, proposing that Starknet’s powerful STARK cryptography could be the key.
Since then, a powerful combination of visionary engineering, decentralized governance, and industry-leading partnerships has turned that proposal into reality. Today, we celebrate a landmark moment for Bitcoin and for Layer 2 technology.
A Landmark Day for BTCFi: Three Breakthroughs Converge
On September 30, 2025, three pivotal developments converge on Starknet, kickstarting a new era for Bitcoin finance (BTCFi), led by a major institutional collaboration:
- Re7 Launches Institutional-Grade Bitcoin Yield on Starknet: Re7, a regulated firm with over $1 billion in assets, is launching an innovative Bitcoin strategy on Starknet, making institutional-grade yield accessible to a broader audience through tokenization.
- Powered by Trustless Bitcoin Staking: This new financial product is made possible by the activation of trustless Bitcoin staking on Starknet, allowing BTC to be put to work without ever leaving a holder’s custody.
- Ignited by the BTCFi Season: The entire ecosystem is being supercharged by the Starknet Foundation’s 100 million STRK incentive program, designed to make Starknet the most attractive place to borrow against, lend, and deploy Bitcoin.
Let’s explore what each of these means.
1. Re7: Institutional-Grade Bitcoin Yield for All
The centerpiece of today’s announcement is Re7’s new Bitcoin-denominated yield product. As a leading on-chain vault curator with a team drawing experience from firms like BlackRock and Goldman Sachs, Re7 is the first institutional player to launch such a structured Bitcoin strategy on Starknet.
Their approach is a fascinating evolution of the familiar “digital gold” thesis. Instead of passively holding Bitcoin, Re7’s strategy actively puts it to work to generate returns in BTC. It combines two engines: a conservative, off-chain derivatives strategy to harvest volatility, and on-chain passive yield opportunities, including staking on Starknet.
This creates a crypto-native feedback loop: earning yield from Bitcoin while helping to secure a decentralized network. Some have playfully referred to this synergy as a “macrostrategy” that benefits the entire blockchain ecosystem.
Crucially, this isn’t just for ultra-high-net-worth individuals. Re7’s strategy offers two paths for participation:
- For Institutions: A regulated fund for large institutions and family offices.
- For Everyone Else: A tokenized version that provides access to the same strategy without needing to go through traditional financial rails.
The appetite for such a product is clear: even before the official launch, Re7 has secured commitments close to 1,000 BTC from a select group of allocators.
2. The Foundation: Trustless Bitcoin Staking is Live
Re7’s innovative strategy is built upon a new, foundational capability for the entire ecosystem: trustless Bitcoin staking. As of today, staking rewards for Bitcoin on Starknet are active.
This isn’t a points program or a synthetic IOU. It is the first fully trustless, wallet-only staking system for Bitcoin on any L2, embedding BTC directly into the core security and consensus of Starknet. This is a game-changer for Bitcoin HODLers who refuse to sell or trust complex wrapping solutions. Now, they can put their idle Bitcoin to work in the most OG-compatible way possible. You stay sovereign. You earn real yield. And your Bitcoin helps secure a decentralized public good.
3. The Fuel: The BTCFi Season Begins
Infrastructure and innovative products are essential, but a thriving ecosystem needs a spark. The Starknet Foundation is providing that spark with the BTCFi Season, a network-wide incentive program powered by 100 million STRK.
This initiative is designed to kickstart a flywheel. It begins by making Starknet the cheapest and most efficient place to borrow against your Bitcoin. Users can borrow USD against their BTC, deploy that capital into yield strategies (like basis trading or Re7’s tokenized fund), generate yield, and use the profits to acquire more BTC.
Protocols like Ekubo, Vesu, EndurFi, Ready, and Braavos are already activating these incentives. Rather than a short-term promotion, they are implementing a sustainable, year-round framework designed to make BTCFi on Starknet an integral part of the user experience.
Security You Don’t Have to Trust, But Can Verify
The foundation for all of this is verifiable security. On Starknet, Bitcoin isn’t entrusted to opaque practices or hidden leverage. It is deployed via transparent, auditable protocols. Every transaction is backed by zk-STARK proofs, a technology that is both post-quantum secure and requires no trusted setup.
This creates a system built not on promises, but on mathematical proof, and it empowers you to verify its integrity independently.
The Big Picture: Making Starknet Bitcoin’s Settlement Layer
Today’s announcements focus on bringing Bitcoin to Starknet. But this is just the first step. The long-term vision is for Starknet to serve as Bitcoin’s scalable settlement layer, transforming it into a true global transaction layer you can use every day. This work is ongoing and represents the next frontier in its mission to scale Bitcoin for the world.
These announcements are about more than just new features; they represent a fundamental shift in what Bitcoin can be. The era of Bitcoin as a passive, idle asset is over. It is now becoming a productive engine for a decentralized future, and the launch of Re7’s pioneering yield strategy on Starknet is the definitive proof. Welcome to the next chapter.