Bitcoin Layer 2 Rootstock Verifies Zero-Knowledge SNARK
Rootstock verified the SNARK using BitVMX, which is Rootstock's modified version of BitVM
- Zero-knowledge SNARK (Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge) refers to a process where one can demonstrate knowledge without revealing that information and without the prover and verifier interacting.
- "The development represents a major leap forward for the BitVMX proving system, demonstrating the ability to challenge and validate the execution of a SNARK verifier on-chain," Rootstock's team said.
A team of developers from Rootstock Labs and Fairgate say they've succeeded in the technological breakthrough of interactively verifying a SNARK proof – a powerful type of cryptography in many blockchain systems – on the main Bitcoin network.
The demonstration could represent a major advance in making the largest blockchain more accommodating to faster, cheaper layer-2 networks, with programmability similar to what's currently possible on Ethereum and other networks.
The SNARK was verified using a modified version of Robin Linus's BitVM design, known as BitVMX, that the team developed independently. Linus developed BitVM as a computing paradigm designed to allow Ethereum-style smart contracts on Bitcoin.
Zero-knowledge SNARK (Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge) refers to a process where one can demonstrate knowledge without revealing that information and without the prover and verifier interacting.
The verification took place on Bitcoin's mainnet on Thursday, having been completed in a testnet environment the day before.
"The development represents a major leap forward for the BitVMX proving system, demonstrating the ability to challenge and validate the execution of a SNARK verifier on-chain," Rootstock's team said in an emailed statement on Thursday. "This breakthrough opens the door for replicating this process with any program compiled to the RISC-V architecture, utilizing BitVMX’s general-purpose virtual CPU."
Read More: Bitcoin Layer-2 Chain Bitlayer Raises $11M Led by ETF Issuer Franklin Templeton
CORRECTION (July 26, 19:00 UTC): Corrects fourth paragraph to say the verification took place on Bitcoin's mainnet instead of Rootstock's
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Digital assets posted a third consecutive quarter of losses in Q2 2026, the longest losing streak since the 2022 bear market, as institutional capital rotated into AI equities and Bitcoin ETFs recorded their largest quarterly outflow since launch. Our report examines what drove the divergence, where structural adoption continued regardless, and what Q3 signals to watch.
Digital assets posted a third consecutive quarter of losses in Q2 2026, the longest losing streak since the 2022 bear market, as institutional capital rotated into AI equities and Bitcoin ETFs recorded their largest quarterly outflow since launch. Our report examines what drove the divergence, where structural adoption continued regardless, and what Q3 signals to watch.
Why it matters:
Digital assets posted a third consecutive quarter of losses in Q2 2026, the longest losing streak since the 2022 bear market, as institutional capital rotated into AI equities and Bitcoin ETFs recorded their largest quarterly outflow since launch. Our report examines what drove the divergence, where structural adoption continued regardless, and what Q3 signals to watch.
