BitVMX Platform
BitVMX is a Bitcoin-native platform for secure, off-chain execution with on-chain optimistic verification.
Its robust and versatile architecture allows developers to plug in different cryptographic protocols and build modular applications like non-custodial bridges, rollups, and decentralized exchanges, all anchored in Bitcoin’s trustless design.
Here, you'll find an overview of its core features and the innovative mechanics that make it a game-changer for scalability and programmability on Bitcoin.
For a deeper dive into BitVMX's full potential, visit đź”—bitvmx.org
Background
In 2023 Robin Linus introduced BitVM, a clever mechanism to use the current Bitcoin scripting system to verify arbitrary conditions and restrict bitcoin spending based on those conditions, assuming miners cannot censor transactions.
The proposal was soon expanded from the two-party setting to N-party protocols. While BitVM (a.k.a. tapleaf circuits) was only of theoretical interest, soon afterwards, Robin proposed two improvements that make it practical: BitVM1 and BitVM2. Fairgate pushed the research forward with BitVMX, and BitVMX+GC, improving both pre-computation, on-chain vbytes consumed, round complexity and design simplicity.
READ MORE đź”—BitVMX Whitepaper
What is BitVMX?
BitVMX is a cutting-edge platform designed to optimistically execute arbitrary programs on Bitcoin, leveraging the N-party disputable computation paradigm introduced by BitVM.
With its foundation in secure, extensible, and open-source principles, BitVMX paves the way for running any program on Bitcoin.
| Protocol | Preprocessing Time | Storage | Rounds | Transaction virtual bytes |
| BitVM | Weeks | Terabytes | ~ 50 | ~ 6 Megabytes |
| BitVM CPU | Days | Gigabytes | ~ 38 | ~280 Kilobytes |
| BitVM2 | Minutes | Megabytes | 1 | ~ Tens of Megabytes |
| BitVMX (*) | Milliseconds | Kilobytes | ~ 34 | ~160 Kilobytes |
| BitVMX+GC | ~ Hours | Megabytes | 1 | ~20 Kilobytes |
For the comparison we use a BitVMX protocol using 4-way search, and a hashing function split into 8 challengeable sub-functions.
READ MORE:
Why RISC-V is the Optimal Architecture for the BitVMX Proving System
As the BitVMX proving system takes shape as a universal computation layer for Bitcoin, one architectural decision stands out as particularly well-justified: the use of the RISC-V instruction set.
From Two-Party to N-Party Computation
The BitVMX protocol builds on the two-party model of BitVM and extends it to support N-party computation
Key Features:
- Versatility: Enables the development of blockchain bridges and SNARK/STARK verifiers.
- Future-Proof: Unlocks advanced use cases like ZK-rollups and Zero Knowledge Contingent Payments (e.g., autonomous bug bounties).
- Collaboration-Driven: Designed, built and maintained by Fairgate Labs with the Open Source community, in collaboration with Rootstock Labs as the main and founding sponsor. In addition, Fairgate, RootstockLabs, and Input | Output (IO) have come together to establish BitVMX FORCE, an industry-defining alliance dedicated to expanding Bitcoin’s computational capabilities through BitVMX, establishing it as the solution of choice in Disputable Computing on Bitcoin.
READ MORE:
From Blueprint to Backend
BitVMX brings Bitcoin’s uncompromising security into the world of complex off-chain computation. It enables trustless, scalable, and efficient systems that extend Bitcoin's utility without sacrificing its foundations.