BitVM enables a free market of second layers, potentially scaling Bitcoin to billions of users.
BitVM is a computing paradigm to express Turing-complete Bitcoin contracts. This requires no changes to the network’s consensus rules. Rather than executing computations on Bitcoin, they are merely verified, similarly to optimistic rollups. A prover makes a claim that a given function evaluates for some particular inputs to some specific output. If that claim is false, anyone can perform a fraud proof and punish the prover. Using this mechanism, any computable function can be verified on Bitcoin.
BitVM is the foundational element to bridge BTC to second layers such as sidechains, rollups, and zkCoins.
The BitVM Alliance is founded by Robin Linus and Lukas George to accelerate the development and implementation of BitVM project. This strategic partnership brings together leading projects and teams dedicated to advancing BitVM development.
By combining expertise and resources, the alliance aims to expedite the delivery of the first BitVM bridges while ensuring robust security and innovative solutions. The collaborative nature of the alliance enables rapid knowledge sharing, coordinated development efforts, and comprehensive peer review of critical components.
Current members of the BitVM Alliance include (in alphabetical order):
The BitVM project is lead by its inventor, Robin Linus, together with Lukas George and Stillsaiko. Special thanks to Super Testnet, Carsten Munk, Hakan Karakuş, Weikeng Chen, and Steven Roose for their code contributions. We’re also collaborating in research projects together with Liam Eagen, Alexei Zamyatin, as well as Matteo Maffai’s group at TU Vienna, and David Tse’s group at Stanford.
BitVM is developed as free and open source software under the umbrella of the ZeroSync nonprofit organization. It is funded by research grants from Spiral, Starkware, OpenSats, and community contributions.