# The Rise of BTCFi: How to Liquid Stake Bitcoin on Starknet By [Endur](https://paragraph.com/@endur) · 2026-01-21 --- Bitcoin remains the largest pool of idle capital in crypto. For years, its role in decentralized finance was limited by a difficult trade-off: any attempt to generate yield typically required sacrificing custody, liquidity, or risk discipline. This tension kept Bitcoin largely outside productive onchain capital markets. That dynamic is now changing. BTCFi is no longer a theoretical narrative. On [**Starknet**](https://www.starknet.io/), it has become structural, supported by native staking, a dual-asset security model, and a DeFi stack capable of absorbing Bitcoin at scale.  At the center of this shift sits [**Endur**](https://app.endur.fi/), which has evolved from Starknet’s liquid staking layer into a coordination layer for BTCFi liquidity, yield, and incentives. **BTCFi Has Moved Beyond Experimentation** ------------------------------------------ The first wave of BTCFi attempts focused on wrapping Bitcoin into speculative products or routing it through opaque yield sources. While these approaches introduced programmability, they often relied on excessive leverage, fragile assumptions, or centralized intermediaries. The current phase of BTCFi looks very different. Today, roughly **80,000–85,000 BTC** is staked across protocols and chains. The focus has shifted from short-term yield extraction to integrating Bitcoin into real capital markets:  * Lending * Liquidity provision * Collateralized borrowing * Staking-aligned security systems.  This evolution demands infrastructure that can support Bitcoin’s risk profile, long-term, conservative, and custody-aware. Starknet is emerging as one of the few ecosystems structurally capable of supporting this shift. **Starknet’s Dual-Asset Security Model Changed the Equation** ------------------------------------------------------------- When Starknet introduced native Bitcoin staking, it became the first rollup to directly tether its security to Bitcoin. More importantly, it formalized a **dual-token consensus mechanism**, where STRK and BTC jointly secure the network. Under this model: * STRK contributes **75%** of Starknet’s security weight * BTC contributes **25%**, aligning Bitcoin directly with network security This design choice is subtle but profound. Bitcoin holders can now stake BTC to secure Starknet and earn native rewards while maintaining exposure to the most conservative asset in crypto. Because Bitcoin is a long-duration store of value, this additional security layer comes at a remarkably low economic cost to the network.  Bitcoiners are not optimizing for aggressive yield anymore, they are optimizing for custody safety, stability, and sustainable returns. Starknet converts that preference into durable security. **From Scaling Layer to Capital Coordination Layer** ---------------------------------------------------- Over the past year, Starknet has transitioned from a high-performance scaling rollup into a **capital coordination layer**, where security, liquidity, and incentives are tightly coupled. The launch of native STRK staking was the first visible signal. What began as a cautious rollout quickly became a core network primitive, with over **1.1 billion STRK staked**, an elevenfold increase that anchored Starknet’s economic security model. In parallel, Bitcoin was integrated directly into the capital stack. Major BTC wrappers were granted first-class DeFi support, enabling Bitcoin holders to participate across lending, liquidity provision, and vault strategies.  Today, more than **1,700 BTC** is staked, surpassing the dollar value of STRK staked despite BTC accounting for a smaller share of consensus weight. This inversion matters. Starknet is no longer a single-asset security model. It is a **dual-asset system** where Bitcoin meaningfully underwrites network stability. At the application layer, Starknet’s DeFi primitives reached maturity. Money markets like [**Vesu**](https://vesu.xyz/earn) unlocked capital-efficient lending, [**Ekubo**](https://ekubo.org/evm/swap) delivered production-grade liquidity infrastructure, and vault systems abstracted complexity into managed strategies.  Together, these components transformed Starknet into a system designed not just to host assets, but to **route, recycle, and compound capital over long horizons**. This is the environment Endur was built for. **Endur: From Liquid Staking to BTCFi Coordination** ---------------------------------------------------- Endur launched as Starknet’s native liquid staking protocol with a simple premise: **staking should not immobilize capital**. Early Starknet staking secured the network but removed assets from circulation, creating friction between security and DeFi participation. Endur resolved this tension by allowing users to stake STRK and receive **xSTRK**, preserving liquidity while scaling security. Stake STRK → receive xSTRK → stay liquid. As Starknet’s roadmap expanded to include Bitcoin staking, the same architecture was extended to BTC. Endur introduced **BTC liquid staking tokens (LSTs)** - xWBTC, xtBTC, xsBTC, and xLBTC, each representing staked Bitcoin that remains fully liquid, composable, and yield-bearing while contributing directly to Starknet’s security. This marked the inflection point for BTCFi on Starknet. Bitcoin stopped being passive collateral and started behaving like productive, security-aligned capital. **Why Endur’s BTC LSTs Matter** ------------------------------- Most BTCFi systems treat Bitcoin as something to borrow against. Endur treats Bitcoin as something to deploy. By design: * BTC earns native staking yield through Endur * The resulting LSTs plug directly into Starknet DeF * Users can lend, LP, borrow, or vault BTC exposure without breaking liquidity This creates an interconnected BTCFi loop: 1. BTC secures the networ 2. LSTs deepen DeFi liquidity 3. DeFi primitives unlock utility 4. Incentives reward productive behavior Crucially, this loop does not rely on extreme leverage or liquidation-heavy strategies. Capital efficiency improves without pushing users toward fragile risk profiles. **Incentives as Capital Coordination, Not Subsidies** ----------------------------------------------------- Endur’s Points Program is designed to reward economic contribution, not just balance size. Early phases focused on staking adoption and conservative multipliers. The next phase formalizes a broader objective.  With Starknet allocating [**100M STRK toward BTCFi incentives**](https://www.starknet.io/blog/starknet-foundation-introduces-btcfi-season/), Endur functions as a routing layer, directing users toward actions that strengthen liquidity depth, lending health, and LST composability across DeFi. Points are not merely rewards. They are signals, guiding capital toward behavior that improves the system as a whole. **Beyond Liquid Staking: Endur as Infrastructure** -------------------------------------------------- Endur’s long-term role extends beyond LST issuance. Liquid staking was the entry point, not the destination. As Starknet matures, liquidity can no longer remain fragmented or static. It must be managed, routed, and continuously redeployed where it creates the most economic impact.  Endur’s next phase expands into protocol-managed vaults that automatically allocate liquidity across Starknet’s core primitives, staking, lending, and liquidity, based on yield, risk, and ecosystem needs. In parallel, Endur continues to deepen its BTCFi stack. Additional BTC wrappers, improved yield pathways, and tighter DeFi integrations expand the surface area for Bitcoin participation without forcing users into excessive risk. This creates a reinforcing growth loop: * Capital becomes productive immediately * Liquidity remains deployable * Yield scales with usage * Bitcoin becomes a native participant in a ZK-secured DeFi economy **Start Your Yield Journey with Endur** --------------------------------------- BTCFi on Starknet is no longer an experiment. It is infrastructure. By combining a dual-asset security model, mature DeFi primitives, and liquid staking for both STRK and BTC, Starknet has created an environment where Bitcoin can finally participate in decentralized finance without compromising its core principles. Endur sits at the center of this evolution, not just as a liquid staking protocol, but as a coordination layer for BTCFi capital. As incentives accelerate and adoption deepens, Endur stands as the default gateway into BTCFi on Starknet. Not as a product. But as infrastructure. --- *Originally published on [Endur](https://paragraph.com/@endur/the-rise-of-btcfi-how-to-liquid-stake-bitcoin-on-starknet)*