The Bitcoin revolution, the approach of BitcoinOS realized through ZK technology.

More than 16 years have passed since the birth of Bitcoin, establishing its position as the world’s largest cryptoasset. However, due to limitations in smart contracts functionality and scalability, practical challenges have also been pointed out. Especially in the DeFi (Decentralized Finance) sector, the use of Bitcoin is limited compared to other Blockchains. To overcome this situation, “BitcoinOS (BOS)” has been developed.

BitcoinOS is an advanced operating system (OS) that utilizes zero-knowledge proof (ZK) technology to achieve programmability, interoperability, and scalability without changing the core protocol of Bitcoin. Its goal is to realize a world where “all blockchain activities are protected by the security of Bitcoin.”

This article provides a detailed explanation of the challenges solved by BitcoinOS, which successfully achieved the first-ever zero-knowledge proof verification on the Bitcoin Block chain, its main products, the expansion of its ecosystem, an overview of the presale, and future prospects.

Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZK Proof) is

A technology that proves the correctness of information without revealing the secret information. For example, when proving “I am over 18 years old,” it is possible to verify without disclosing the date of birth, thereby ensuring reliability while protecting privacy.

The presale of BitcoinOS is currently ongoing. You can check here for more details.

Table of Contents

1. Three challenges that BitcoinOS solves
2. Major Products
3. Expanding Ecosystem
4. Overview of BOS Token
5. Presale Overview
6. 2025-2026 Roadmap
7. Summary

The three challenges that BitcoinOS solves

Bitcoin and the cryptoasset market face three major challenges, and BitcoinOS provides the following solutions.

1. Integration of Fragmented Markets

The current cryptoassets market is fragmented across multiple Practical Blockchains such as Ethereum, Solana, and Cardano. This has led to a loss of application compatibility and complicated asset transfers. BitcoinOS is building an integrated platform centered around Bitcoin, achieving seamless interoperability across chains.

2. Strengthening Security

Traditional cross-chain bridges have always been accompanied by hacking risks due to the need for trust in third parties and centralized management. BitcoinOS’s “Grail Bridge” adopts a “1/n trust model” that implements a mechanism where if even one of many validators is honest, it can prevent fraud. This improves security.

3. Expansion of programmability

Bitcoin has high security, but its programmability, such as smart contracts, was limited. BitcoinOS provides programmable features without changing the code of Bitcoin. This allows DeFi and decentralized applications (dApps) to be developed on Bitcoin.

Main Products

BitcoinOS is addressing the aforementioned challenges through three innovative products.

BitSNARK

BitSNARK is a technology specifically designed to verify zero-knowledge proofs on Bitcoin. It consists of only three basic instructions (addition, bitwise operations, and comparison) and is significantly more efficient compared to traditional BitVM.

In simple terms, BitSNARK is a “technology that proves that complex calculations have been performed correctly on Bitcoin with minimal data.”

2025年3月には第二バージョンのBitSNARK v0.2がオープンソース化されました。Bitcoin上で「あらゆる計算を検証できる柔軟なフレームワーク」を提供し、開発者は実質的にどのようなPractical Blockchainアプリケーションでも構築し、その実行をBitcoin上で直接検証できるようアップグレードされています。

Main Features

• Verification of calculations Make all kinds of calculation results verifiable on Bitcoin.
• Efficient Data Size The data required for verification is less than 100 kilobytes and can easily be included in a regular Block.
• Improved processing efficiency The required number of communications has been reduced from 52 to 6, significantly improving cost-effectiveness and efficiency.

This technology enables the efficient verification of complex calculation results on Bitcoin without altering the fundamental mechanisms of Bitcoin. For example, it becomes possible to verify a large number of transactions collectively or confirm activities on another Practical Blockchain on Bitcoin.

Grail Bridge

Grail Bridge is a technology that securely transfers assets between Bitcoin and other Blockchains.

While traditional bridges required trust in third parties, Grail adopts a “1/n” security model. It achieves groundbreaking security that prevents fraud as long as one of the many validators is honest. This resolves the hacking risks associated with traditional bridges.

Basic Mechanism of Grail

1. Send BTC to a special address on Bitcoin
2. Create an electronic certificate to prove that the deposit has been securely made.
3. Once the certificate is verified, an equivalent amount of tokens will be issued on another Practical Blockchain.
4. If you want to revert to the original Bitcoin, you can burn the tokens, and use the certificate to reclaim the original BTC.

This series of processes demonstrates that assets can be safely and easily transferred between different Practical Blockchains. This could greatly expand the potential uses of Bitcoin in the future.

xBTC

xBTC is a programmable token that operates on the Bitcoin mainnet developed by BitcoinOS, and is directly related to the bridge-less transfer between the Bitcoin and Cardano mainnets that BitcoinOS successfully achieved on May 4, 2025.

This bridge-less transfer is a technology that utilizes zero-knowledge cryptography to securely and efficiently move assets without relying on a trusted third party (custodians or bridges), and it represents a critical technological innovation underlying xBTC. Specifically, it demonstrates that programmable assets and applications can operate on or between any UTXO chains, regardless of whether they are Bitcoin, Cardano, or others. It also functions on blockchains that were not designed with smart contracts in mind.

As a result, xBTC serves as a bridge to realize advanced financial applications such as DeFi and smart contracts on Bitcoin while maintaining the native characteristics of Bitcoin. In other words, the bridge-less transfer technology is the core mechanism that enables xBTC to function in a cross-chain environment and demonstrate programmability.

Just as wETH on Ethereum has brought programmability to ETH, xBTC is a revolutionary product that realizes programmability on Bitcoin.

Expanding Ecosystem

BitcoinOS is building an ecosystem that enhances interoperability with multiple blockchains and is advancing collaboration with major blockchain projects. The current key partners are as follows.

• Cardano (ADA)
  With a market capitalization of approximately $30 billion (about 4.3 trillion yen) and more than 1,370 projects, it is a major Practical Blockchain.
• Arbitrum (ARB) Ethereum L2 with a market capitalization of approximately $2 billion (about 300 billion yen) and a processing capacity of 40,000 transactions per second.
• Merlin Chain (MERL)
  Bitcoin-focused L2 with a market cap of approximately $60 million (about 9 billion yen)

The technical collaboration with Cardano is particularly noteworthy and contributes to improving the interoperability of both Blockchains.

Overview of BOS Token

! ### Basic Info

BitcoinOS has developed the $BOS token in collaboration with Sovryn. This token serves as the economic foundation of the BitcoinOS ecosystem and plays several key roles.

Token Allocation

The three roles of the BOS token

The $BOS token has three main functions.

1. Collateral for SLAM node operation

SLAM nodes are the computers that form the foundation of the BitcoinOS network, and node operators play a role in maintaining the security and stability of the network by depositing BOS tokens as collateral, facilitating communication between different blockchains, and verifying ZK proofs. Rewards are distributed based on the volume of transactions processed by each node and the amount of BOS tokens deposited.

2. Payment methods for network usage fees

When using the services of BitcoinOS, BOS tokens are used for payments such as transfer fees between blockchains, the costs of creating and verifying ZK proofs, and the costs of processing large transactions. Other cryptoassets like BTC can also be used for payments, but using $BOS provides various benefits and discounts.

3. Coordination of the entire ecosystem

We support the growth of BitcoinOS in various ways, including providing rewards to validators and developers, promoting collaboration among multiple blockchains, distributing voting rights for system operations, and fundraising for ecosystem expansion. The value of the $BOS token is tied to the growth and utilization of the entire network, and the fee income generated from activities across various blockchains is designed to be returned to token holders.

Presale Overview

The pre-sale of the $BOS token, which supports the BitcoinOS ecosystem, is currently underway. This pre-sale offers a valuable participation opportunity ahead of the mainnet launch and the Token Generation Event (TGE).

Participate in the BOS token presale here

You can check the details of the BitcoinOS project and the token sale on the official website. It is said that additional bonuses are offered for participation in the ongoing presale with BTC and ADA.

2025-2026 Roadmap

The development of BitcoinOS is progressing as planned, and the following roadmap has been presented.

Q1-Q2 2025

• Completion of BitSNARK audit and integration
• Introduction of Grail’s mainnet
• Public release of the programmable token standard
• Official launch of BOS Token (Q2)

Q3-Q4 2025

• Expand integration from EVM chains to UTXO-based systems, Solana, MoveVM, etc.
• Large-scale testing of the system and improvement of scalability
• Strong integration with major Practical Blockchains
• Open sourcing most of the BOS technology

By steadily advancing this roadmap, BitcoinOS aims to establish itself as a system that significantly expands the functionality of Bitcoin by the end of 2025, bringing new possibilities to the entire Web3.

Summary

BitcoinOS is a project that leverages advanced technologies such as zero-knowledge proofs to significantly broaden the potential of Bitcoin. Notably, it takes an approach that expands its functionality without changing the fundamental design of Bitcoin. This allows for the exploration of new application possibilities without compromising the security that underlies Bitcoin.

The development of BitSNARK v0.2 and the successful bridge-less transfer between Bitcoin and Cardano indicate that this concept is steadily progressing towards realization.

For details and the latest information about BitcoinOS, please visit the official website. It contains updates on project progress, technical explanations, and the latest information on the roadmap.

Join the presale now:

You can join discussions about $BOS on Discord or Telegram and receive support.