Citrea Launches Testnet4 Bringing EVM Compatibility to Bitcoin Developers

• Citrea Testnet4 is the first rollup enabling EVM developers to deploy dApps on Bitcoin, using BTC as a settlement layer.
• Citrea’s Clementine bridge on Testnet4 leverages BitVM, allowing secure, trust-minimized smart contracts on Bitcoin.
• Citrea optimizes cryptographic proofs on Bitcoin Testnet4, reducing costs and enhancing security for decentralized applications.

Citrea, a rollup solution for Bitcoin, has just released the Testnet4, an essential step towards its Citrea mainnet. This development provides a means through which developers of Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) can acquire blockspace on the Bitcoin blockchain and leverage bitcoin as a settlement layer. The Citrea Testnet is the only operational roll-up solution enabling developers to create complex applications on Bitcoin, promoting financial inclusion and self-sovereignty.

EVM Compatibility and Access to Bitcoin Blockspace

Citrea offers full EVM compatibility, allowing developers familiar with tools like Solidity, Vyper, Foundry, and Hardhat to deploy smart contracts on Bitcoin seamlessly. The introduction of Citrea Testnet creates a unique environment where developers can build applications using Bitcoin’s secure blockspace, transforming the cryptocurrency from merely a store of value into a foundational layer for a decentralized financial system. The Testnet also includes Citrea’s BitVM-based bridge, Clementine, which aims to make Bitcoin a viable settlement layer, supporting advanced DeFi primitives and smart contracts.

The Citrea Testnet allows developers to use Bitcoin trust-minimized, leveraging its blockspace without relying on custodial solutions or bridges that compromise user freedom. Citrea’s EVM compatibility facilitates the migration of Ethereum-based applications to the Bitcoin network with minimal adjustments, broadening the scope of financial products and services that can operate securely on Bitcoin.

Testing Citrea’s Trust-Minimized Bridge: Clementine

Clementine, the trust-minimized bridge built on BitVM, is a core component of Citrea’s Testnet. The bridge facilitates a secure and transparent connection between Bitcoin and Citrea, enabling the execution of smart contracts on Bitcoin with minimal trust assumptions. The Testnet introduces multiple operator setups, which reduce single points of failure and enhance the bridge’s security by detecting and flagging malicious operators through a nearly completed zero-knowledge (ZK) circuit.

Implementing Clementine on Testnet allows for bridging fixed amounts of BTC, initially capped at 10 BTC, to test and refine the bridge’s security protocols. As Citrea progresses towards its mainnet launch, third-party solutions are being developed to enhance user experience, such as atomic swaps between BTC and cBTC (Bitcoin on Citrea), to facilitate smoother interactions within the ecosystem.

Prover Enhancements and Optimized Proof Production

The Citrea Testnet has also focused on optimizing the prover mechanism, crucial for generating cryptographic proofs of transactions and state changes. By implementing changes like switching from HashMap to BTreeMap, Citrea has reduced the size of state differences and improved the efficiency of proof production. The Testnet also enhances how ZK proofs are inscribed on Bitcoin, minimizing the risk of non-standard transactions and ensuring more resilient proof inscription processes.

These improvements enable Citrea to produce faster and cheaper proofs, making it a cost-effective solution for developers seeking to leverage Bitcoin’s security features in their decentralized applications. As the platform undergoes further upgrades, Citrea aims to solidify Bitcoin’s role as the backbone of a decentralized financial ecosystem, enhancing its scalability, decentralization, and censorship resistance.