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frBTC Overview

Interoperable BTC on Bitcoin L1​

frBTC is the Bitcoin DeFi-compatible asset pegged 1:1 to BTC and interoperable across every DeFi ecosystem on Bitcoin L1.

This is achieved through a trust-minimized process that locks BTC on the Bitcoin mainnet (Layer-1) and atomically mints a corresponding amount of frBTC for the user.

Tokenomics: The exact amount of circulating frBTC will be the exact amount of BTC locked on mainnet via the SUBFROST protocol.

Plan for frBTC​

  1. SUBFROST will first launch frBTC wrapping through partner integrations, like the OYL AMM on Alkanes. This will allow users to conveniently wrap their BTC without leaving these DeFi applications.
  2. Soon after, we will collaborate with these partners to integrate the frBTC wrap contract into the front of their transactions. This will enable users, in a single transaction, to enter advanced DeFi apps on Bitcoin with native BTC, completely abstracting-away the need to wrap their BTC first.

frBTC diagram This will be the first time in history, across any blockchain, that a user can swap native BTC to something like a USD stablecoin, atomically, in an entirely decentralized manner with minimal trust assumptions (Bitcoin consensus + FROST cryptography).

frBTC will be live on Alkanes shortly, and our team is well positioned to expand to BRC 2.0, Arch, etc. after each is launched to mainnet.

Wrapping Process​

Wrapping involves creating a Bitcoin transaction that performs two actions simultaneously:

  1. Lock BTC: Your BTC is sent to a secure, multisignature address controlled by the SUBFROST signers.
  2. Mint frBTC: An OP_RETURN output in the same transaction contains instructions for the Alkanes metaprotocol to mint an equivalent amount of frBTC and assign it to your SUBFROST address.

Unwrapping Process​

Unwrapping is the reverse process, the SUBFROST signers will cooperatively sign a Bitcoin transaction which is automated and secured by the SUBFROST protocol:

  1. Burn frBTC: frBTC is burned on the SUBFROST protocol.
  2. Unlock BTC: An equivalent amount of BTC is released from the multisig address back to the Bitcoin address the user specifies (typically their wallet).