Bitcoin L2 Strata
Strata by Alpen Labs: ZK rollup on Bitcoin, glock (garbled lock) bridge, EVM-compatible execution.
by claude-dev-suite · MIT
The skill
Strata by Alpen Labs: ZK rollup on Bitcoin, glock (garbled lock) bridge, EVM-compatible execution. Emerging Bitcoin L2 in 2025-2026. USE WHEN: evaluating Strata for deployment, comparing with Citrea.
Strata (Alpen Labs)
ZK rollup on Bitcoin developed by Alpen Labs. Aims to be a flexible execution environment with EVM compatibility and a trust-minimized bridge to Bitcoin.
Naming note (as of September 2026): Alpen Labs now splits the stack in two. Alpen is the EVM-compatible execution rollup; Strata is the lightweight orchestration layer that anchors state to Bitcoin and hosts the enshrined Strata bridge. Older material that calls the whole rollup "Strata" predates this split.
Architecture
- Off-chain execution (zkEVM-style, Reth-based).
- Validity proofs committed to Bitcoin via Strata checkpoints.
- Glock (garbled lock) bridge for trust-minimized peg-in/out, 1-of-N honest-operator trust model.
- Sequencer for ordering txs (initially centralized, decentralizing).
Status
- Active development; testnet phases through 2025-2026.
- Testnet III live on Bitcoin signet since 28 July 2026, with 21+ launch partners; Stakely and Chainflow run independent bridge operators alongside Alpen Labs.
- Mainnet: not launched as of September 2026; docs still state mainnet support is "planned for a future release".
- Comparable goals to Citrea but distinct implementation choices.
Bridge design history
- 2024-2025: Alpen built and published a BitVM2-style bridge design (the original "Strata bridge" post, December 2024).
- July-August 2025: Alpen announced Glock (garbled circuit-based script locks) and reoriented to it, citing BitVM2's transaction cost, design complexity and ~5 BTC operator stake as unfixable within that paradigm.
- 7 May 2026: Alpen announces Mosaic - the production fault-proof verifier that realizes Glock (eprint 2026/812, received April 2026, revised July 2026; github.com/alpenlabs/mosaic).
- July 2026: Testnet III ships the glock-based bridge, which Alpen describes as the first publicly usable garbled-circuit verifier for Bitcoin applications.
The BitVM2 Take/Assert/Disprove flow is therefore superseded for Strata; Alpen's own 2024 bridge post now carries a historical-note banner saying so.
Use cases
- DeFi: Solidity contracts on Bitcoin.
- Cross-chain bridges for assets.
- High-throughput payment apps that need EVM-style programmability.
Comparison
| Aspect | Strata | Citrea | BSquared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Status | Testnet III on signet (Jul 2026); no mainnet as of Sep 2026 | Mainnet (Jan 2026) | Mainnet (Apr 2024) |
| ZK system | zkVM | zkEVM type-2 | zk + optimistic hybrid |
| Bridge | Glock / Mosaic garbled locks (2026) | BitVM2 | Federation + zk |
| Backing | Alpen Labs | Citrea team | B² Network |
BSquared status re-checked 16 September 2026 against the B² mainnet
RPC (rpc.bsquared.network): chain ID 223, genesis block timestamp
15 April 2024, still producing blocks.
See also
Use this skill
Connect your agent to the Skill Store MCP server and ask for it by ref: claude-dev-suite/bitcoin-l2-strata-19613422743.
Details
- Publisher
- claude-dev-suite
- Category
- Finance & Markets › Payments & crypto
- License
- MIT
- Updated
- 2026-10-19
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