- This upgrade allows Bitcoin holders to participate in Starknet’s consensus.
- The L2 will shorten the unstaking period to 7 days to increase staker flexibility.
- After the announcement, STRK rallied more than 2%.
Cryptocurrency markets traded cautiously on Monday as investors positioned for key interest rate decisions due later this week, which are expected to influence market direction over the coming sessions.
Bitcoin hovered near $116,000 while Ethereum held above $4,600, reigniting debate about whether an altseason is underway.
At the same time, the Layer 2 network Starknet officially launched Bitcoin staking.
The team temporarily paused the staking platform to complete the implementation before a formal rollout in the coming hours.
The announcement read:
BTC staking integration has started! The staking protocol is paused for a few hours while we implement this major update.
The BTC staking integration has started!
The staking protocol is now paused for a few hours while we implement this massive update.
As a reminder, this upgrade will enable Bitcoiners to participate in Starknet’s consensus, with the following parameters:
– BTC staking power…— Starknet (@Starknet) September 15, 2025
By enabling Bitcoin staking, the Ethereum-based Layer 2 gives Bitcoin holders the first opportunity to help secure Starknet’s consensus.
Starknet, focused on ZK-rollups and scalability, says the BTC staking integration underscores its commitment to decentralization and cross-chain collaboration.
Following the news, the native token STRK turned bullish.
The token rallied from an intraday low of $0.1299 to a high of $0.139, a move of more than 7%, signaling renewed interest in the Starknet ecosystem.
Starknet Integrates BTC Staking
The announcement specifies that BTC will represent 25% of Starknet’s consensus power, while STRK will retain a 75% share.
This balance is intended to maintain network security while attracting new stakers.
The staking protocol will support multiple wrapped Bitcoin tokens including WBTC, tBTC, SolvBTC and LBTC.
The community will vote via governance proposals to approve additional wrappers in the future, allowing staking options to evolve alongside Starknet’s BTC staking network.
The team temporarily paused the staking protocol to implement this upgrade.
Unstaking Period Reduced to 7 Days
The upgrade brings several user-facing improvements.
Most notably, the unstaking window for both STRK and BTC stakers has been shortened from 21 days to 7 days.
For participants who need to react quickly in a fast-moving crypto market, a reduced exit period is a significant enhancement.
Shorter lockups enable users to respond more rapidly to price movements, potentially unlocking new trading and yield opportunities and improving Starknet liquidity.
More flexible unstaking addresses one of the main pain points for stakers and could help attract additional total value locked (TVL) to the network.
What This Means for Starknet and DeFi
The introduction of BTC staking could make Starknet a more attractive cross-chain venue for decentralized finance.
By tapping Bitcoin’s deep liquidity pool, Starknet plans to route capital into dApps built within the STRK ecosystem.
DeFi developers can leverage BTC liquidity to build lending platforms, yield strategies and derivative markets that use wrapped Bitcoin as collateral or liquidity sources.
While many responses were positive, some critics voiced concerns. One user on X argued that BTC staking diminishes STRK’s value to token holders, suggesting the token might be used primarily for inflationary rewards rather than delivering direct utility.
Despite such criticism, Starknet emphasizes its goal of democratizing DeFi by bringing Bitcoin liquidity into its scalable, ZK-rollup environment.