Bitlayer: Bitcoin L2 with ZK proof system, BTC staking, EVM compatibility. Early BTCFi entrant (2024); TVL down 99.9% from peak as of September 2026. USE WHEN: evaluating Bitlayer for deployment, BTC staking products.
BitVM, BitVM2, BitVM3: off-chain computation framework using optimistic challenge games on Bitcoin script. Foundation for trust-minimized bridges to L2s and PoS chains. USE WHEN: building trust-minimized bridges, understanding ZK rollup peg-out mechanisms, evaluating bridge security models.
BOB (Build on Bitcoin): hybrid Bitcoin/Ethereum L2 using OP Stack Bitcoin security. Bridges to Bitcoin via threshold signatures zk-proofs. USE WHEN: building cross-chain Bitcoin/Ethereum apps, evaluating BOB hybrid model.
Botanix: RETIRED EVM-compatible Bitcoin L2 using "Spiderchain" architecture (federated multisig rotated by orchestrators). stBTC native staking. Mainnet 1 July 2025; wind-down announced 5 June 2026. USE WHEN: studying Spiderchain federation rotation as a design, or explaining why Botanix is no longer a deployment…
B² Network (BSquared): hybrid ZK + optimistic Bitcoin L2 with EVM compatibility. Live since 2024; DeFi TVL is down 97% from its December 2024 peak as of September 2026. USE WHEN: evaluating B² for deployment, integrating with their bridge, comparing Bitcoin L2 options.
Citrea: first ZK-rollup on Bitcoin (mainnet 27 Jan 2026), zkEVM, BitVM2 trustless bridge, ctUSD stablecoin, native BTC lending. USE WHEN: building zkEVM apps on Bitcoin, integrating with Citrea, evaluating ZK rollups vs sidechains.
Counterparty: legacy Bitcoin meta-protocol (2014) for assets, DEX, betting using OPRETURN. Usage is largely historic, but the reference implementation still ships protocol upgrades (AMM pools, Taproot envelopes) as of September 2026. USE WHEN: dealing with legacy Counterparty assets, understanding pre-Ordinals asset…
Drivechains (BIP300/301) and Spacechains (Ruben Somsen): proposals for sidechains pegged via miner-validated locks or via OPCAT-like primitives. Status: NOT activated on mainnet. USE WHEN: evaluating proposed sidechain mechanisms, understanding why they're not live, comparing with federated/trustless bridges.
Fedimint: federated Chaumian e-cash on Bitcoin with Lightning gateway. Multi-sig guardians, blind-signature notes, community-scale custody with privacy. Fedi mobile wallet. USE WHEN: deploying community mints, integrating federated e-cash, evaluating Fedimint vs Cashu.
Hemi Network: hybrid Bitcoin + Ethereum L2 with "superfinality" via Bitcoin PoW. Chain TVL under $1M across 44 listed protocols (DefiLlama, September 2026), down from a $330M peak in June 2025. USE WHEN: building cross-chain DeFi, evaluating Hemi vs BOB.
MAP Protocol: omnichain interoperability layer with Bitcoin integration. Cross-chain messaging across many chains; positions itself as Bitcoin L2 connector. Butter Bridge V3.1 was exploited on 20 May 2026; read the status note before treating it as production bridge infrastructure. USE WHEN: building cross-chain apps…
Merlin Chain: Polygon-CDK Bitcoin L2 with EVM and a federation peg; its Bitcoin fraud-proof module is still unshipped as of September 2026. Was the TVL leader in 2024; DeFi TVL is down 98% from that peak as of September 2026. USE WHEN: evaluating Merlin for deployment, BTC DeFi.
Spark by Lightspark: statechain-derived L2 with FROST threshold signatures, leaf architecture, Lightning compatibility. Beta launched April 2025; managed by Spark Operators (SOs). USE WHEN: integrating with Spark, evaluating Spark vs Ark vs Lightning, designing leaf-based UTXO trees.
Stacks: Bitcoin smart contract layer with Clarity language, sBTC for native peg, Nakamoto upgrade for fast finality, PoX (Proof of Transfer) consensus. USE WHEN: building Bitcoin smart contracts, integrating sBTC, evaluating Stacks vs RSK / EVM alternatives.
Statechains: off-chain UTXO ownership transfer via Statechain Operator (SO) signing. Mercury Layer (CommerceBlock) is the main implementation. 1-of-N security model. USE WHEN: evaluating off-chain UTXO transfer, comparing with Spark/ Ark, designing 1-of-N security models.
Strata by Alpen Labs: ZK rollup on Bitcoin, glock (garbled lock) bridge, EVM-compatible execution. Emerging Bitcoin L2 in 2025-2026. USE WHEN: evaluating Strata for deployment, comparing with Citrea.
Threshold Network (tBTC): federated BTC bridge to Ethereum/EVM chains with t-of-n threshold signers, random group selection. USE WHEN: bridging BTC to Ethereum DeFi, evaluating tBTC vs wBTC.
At most 3 mods per repository are shown here, and a mod shipped inside a plugin is left to that plugin's page — the rest are on their repository pages: