Bitcoin DeFi Transactions Now Cost $0.01 on Starknet

Bitcoin holders can now engage in trading, borrowing, and executing complex DeFi strategies at an ultra-low cost of $0.01 per transaction, following the launch of tBTC on Starknet by Threshold Network. This development allows users to bring native BTC onchain without the need for custodians or intermediaries, transforming Bitcoin into functional DeFi capital while preserving full user custody.

tBTC is now available for direct minting on Starknet via the Threshold UI, enabling users to seamlessly integrate native BTC into the DeFi ecosystem. This is a significant improvement over Bitcoin’s average transaction fee of $1.49 on the mainnet, which can make complex DeFi operations uneconomical. With tBTC on Starknet, users can trade, lend, or deploy Bitcoin in complex DeFi strategies at a fraction of the cost, making Bitcoin a more versatile and usable asset.

MacLane Wilkison, Co-Founder of Threshold Labs, highlighted the transformative potential of this launch. "BTC on Bitcoin Mainnet is like gold bars in a vault: valuable but unusable," he said. "At just $0.01 per transaction on Starknet, Bitcoin becomes more than a store of value — it can now be used for small to large-scale trades, executed hundreds of times a day, and as a source of capital to lend or even borrow against. This is Bitcoin as it was meant to be used."

With the launch of tBTC on Starknet, Threshold Network is building the foundation for a Bitcoin-Ethereum economy within a scalable, zero-knowledge environment. tBTC is integrating with Starknet’s most prominent protocols to bring trust-minimized Bitcoin liquidity to trading, borrowing, and beyond. Users can now execute on select trading and borrowing strategies, provide liquidity at minimal rebalancing costs, use Bitcoin as collateral without selling, manage positions freely on DEXs, and trade tBTC or explore staking pairs.

This integration opens up new application use cases, including streaming payments, automated strategies, and Bitcoin-powered gaming. Streaming payments enable Bitcoin-backed payments to be sent on a per-second basis, while automated strategies allow BTC to function within smart contract systems with minimal gas overheads. Bitcoin-powered gaming facilitates microtransactions through low-cost, instant Bitcoin-backed transfers, making them viable in gaming environments.

Upcoming integrations with perpetual DEXs and collateralized debt protocols will expand risk-managed leverage options and allow BTC to power more complex DeFi tools. Future integrations with automated vaults will simplify liquidity management for users and unlock more opportunities with BTC on DeFi. Collaborations with major liquidity providers and oracle networks will ensure accurate price feeds and optimal capital deployment.

Unlike other wrapped Bitcoins that require corporate custody, tBTC uses threshold cryptography. Multiple independent nodes secure Bitcoin deposits, ensuring that no single entity controls funds. No KYC is required, and users maintain Bitcoin sovereignty while accessing DeFi. Starknet’s zero-knowledge proofs provide the scaling, with STARK cryptography compressing thousands of transactions into one proof, achieving 857 TPS in testing while maintaining Ethereum’s security guarantees.

Starknet users can now directly mint tBTC — a fully backed, 1:1 representation of native Bitcoin — through the Threshold UI, providing them with seamless access to Bitcoin’s value without intermediaries and with full self-custody. Additionally, users can bridge existing tBTC from Ethereum L1 to Starknet via the official StarkGate bridge, offering even more flexibility for Bitcoin holders to participate in Starknet DeFi.

Despite a $2.1 trillion market cap, Bitcoin’s presence in DeFi remains minimal, with just $6.3 billion (under 0.3%) locked in decentralized protocols. As transaction costs decline and access barriers are removed, the Bitcoin DeFi market has the potential to grow 10–15x, unlocking new utility beyond passive holding and into active, composable participation across DeFi. tBTC has operated since 2020 as the leading trust-minimized Bitcoin protocol. Combined with Starknet’s proven 857 TPS capacity, Bitcoin DeFi can finally scale.

Threshold Network powers tBTC, the leading decentralized, 1:1 Bitcoin-backed asset for DeFi. Secured by a 51-of-100 threshold signer model, tBTC enables BTC to move across multiple chains—including Ethereum, Solana, Arbitrum, and BOB—without requiring custodians or compromising security. With $450M+ in TVL and $3.6B in bridge volume since 2020, Threshold delivers the most robust trust-minimized Bitcoin infrastructure in DeFi.

Starknet is a permissionless, decentralized zero-knowledge (ZK) rollup that offers high scalability, low fees, and fast finality. Powered by STARK proofs and developed by StarkWare, Starknet is designed for long-term composability, security, and developer flexibility.