GOAT Network Leaps Ahead: Fast ZK Proofs Poised to Dominate Bitcoin L2 Yield Race
Move over, slowpokes—GOAT Network just turbocharged Bitcoin's Layer 2 with zero-knowledge proofs that settle faster than a Wall Street trader's moral compass.
Why it matters: With yield-hungry DeFi degens circling like vultures, speed is the ultimate alpha. GOAT's ZK tech could finally make Bitcoin L2s competitive with Ethereum's rollup-dominated playground.
The fine print: While 'fast' remains relative in blockchain time (we're still talking seconds, not nanoseconds), early benchmarks show 3-5x throughput gains over existing solutions. That's enough to make even the most jaded crypto VC crack a smile—between martini sips, of course.
Bottom line: In the high-stakes game of L2 yield farming, GOAT Network just went all-in. Now we wait to see if the market backs their bet... or if this becomes another 'revolutionary' tech collecting dust next to your unused Bitcoin ATM card.
Zero-knowledge proof, or ZK proofs, allow someone to verify a block of information—such as transactions—without revealing the underlying data. While common in Ethereum-based systems, implementing ZK proofs natively on Bitcoin has posed steep technical challenges.
GOAT Network began as a zero-knowledge research project in 2023. In 2024, it shifted focus to Bitcoin, adapting its zk-prover infrastructure to work within the network’s more limited scripting environment.
Its new testnet uses a distributed system of GPU-powered nodes that process blocks, aggregation, and Groth16 proofs, in parallel. According to GOAT, this setup eliminates bottlenecks and allows for near-instant withdrawals.
GOAT Network is one of several teams building zero-knowledge solutions on Bitcoin. Other projects include BitcoinOS, StarkWare, L2 Iterative, Citrea, and Build on Bitcoin (BOB).
Unlike projects that claim Bitcoin compatibility while operating on sidechains, Liu said GOAT’s architecture directly settles on Bitcoin.
“All transactions occur on the LAYER 2 network but are ultimately settled on Bitcoin,” he said. “If any disputes arise, Bitcoin miners are responsible for validating them. The bridge operates without intermediaries, ensuring no external party controls user assets.”
These elements—Bitcoin settlement, miner validation, and a trustless bridge, Liu said, define what makes a Bitcoin Layer 2 legitimate.
“Nearly every Bitcoin holder we’ve talked to—large and small—wants yield, but they’re not willing to sell their Bitcoin to get it,” Liu said.
Yields come from gas fees paid in Bitcoin on GOAT’s Layer 2. Users stake Bitcoin into decentralized sequencer nodes—the entities that process rollup transactions—and earn a share of the fees they generate.
Liu said the system’s security is built on three layers: decentralized sequencers to prevent single points of failure, a trustless bridge with an Optimistic Challenge Process to detect and punish invalid withdrawals, and zk-proofs that only work if the transaction is valid.
“If a malicious node alters a transaction, the proof won’t go through,” he said.
Liu acknowledged the skepticism the Bitcoin community may have toward new Bitcoin Layer 2s, promising to revolutionize the number one blockchain network. He believes the timing is different.
“This is Bitcoin’s OP moment,” Liu said, referencing the ethereum Layer 2 Optimism. “Now the tech works—and it’s time to prove it.”
BitVM2 ZK Rollups will be available to the public before the end of the year.
