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About Alpen Labs
Alpen Labs is building an EVM-compatible rollup on Bitcoin, using zero-knowledge proofs to enable smart contracts and DeFi directly on the Bitcoin network. Its core product is a validity rollup that posts state commitments to Bitcoin, allowing developers to deploy existing Ethereum smart contracts without modification while inheriting Bitcoin's security.
The main competitive edge lies in its cryptographic approach: instead of relying on multi-signature bridges or trusted operators, Alpen uses a 1-of-N trust assumption where a single honest party can challenge invalid state transitions. Its garbled-circuit-based Bitcoin verifier and the Glock system (an optimized BitVM variant) reduce on-chain verification costs significantly.
The market pain point Alpen addresses is Bitcoin's limited programmability. While Bitcoin holds the largest crypto asset base, it lacks native smart contract capabilities, forcing users into custodial bridges or centralized exchanges to access DeFi. Alpen aims to unlock this idle capital without introducing new trust assumptions.
In the past six months (2026-02-28 to 2026-08-31), Alpen launched Testnet III, which attracted 21+ integration partners including bridge operators Stakely and Chainflow, with P2P.org expected to join. The testnet introduced the first publicly usable garbled-circuit Bitcoin verifier, demonstrating a meaningful technical milestone. The project also completed audits of its Orchestration Layer and Secret Service components with multiple audit firms, and continued development of its Glock-based proving system. No major negative events were reported during this period.
Alpen Labs, founded in 2022, is developing Strata, a ZK rollup for Bitcoin. In April 2024, it raised $10.6M in a seed round led by Ribbit Capital, with Castle Island Ventures and Robot Ventures participating. In January 2025, it secured an $8.5M strategic round co-led by DBA and Cyber Fund, with continued support from Ribbit Capital, Castle Island Ventures, and Geometry. These milestones mark a shift toward bringing zero-knowledge proofs and programmability to Bitcoin, enabling scalable, private, and interoperable applications. Strata's upcoming testnet and mainnet launch in 2025 represent long-term steps toward expanding Bitcoin's utility beyond simple transfers, fostering DeFi, stablecoins, and self-custody solutions.
Co-founders and core executives:
Simanta Gautam (Co-founder & CEO): Previously founded Synapse Technology (acquired by Palantir), led Edge AI & ML Infrastructure at Palantir. MIT graduate.
Liam Eagen (Founding Cryptographer): Researcher in zero-knowledge proofs, published multiple papers on eprint. Formerly at Blockstream, worked on Bulletproofs++ and ShieldedCSV.
Abishkar Chhetri (Co-founder): Former software engineer at Microsoft (Azure Cognitive Services), MIT graduate with focus on NLP, distributed computing, and cryptography.