Alpen Labs Announces the Bitcoin Dollar (BTD): A Censorship-Resistant, BTC-Backed Stablecoin

NEW YORK, May 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Alpen Labs today announced the Bitcoin Dollar (BTD), a Bitcoin-collateralized stablecoin being developed as a public good to advance censorship-resistant financial tools. Built to embody Bitcoin's ethos of decentralization, privacy, and permissionless access, the Bitcoin Dollar aims to eliminate governance, tokens, and custodial risks, offering native real yield and unmatched security through Alpen's zero-knowledge (ZK) rollup technology.

"Bitcoin is the most trusted digital asset, yet its financial ecosystem often compromises its principles," said David Seroy, Head of Ecosystem at Alpen Labs. "The Bitcoin Dollar is the stablecoin Bitcoin deserves—a neutral, immutable protocol that empowers users while upholding decentralization. This is the foundation for a truly free financial system."

How the Bitcoin Dollar Stands Apart

The Bitcoin Dollar aims to redefine the stablecoin landscape by embodying as much as possible Bitcoin's core principles of decentralization and trustlessness, positioning it as a true public good. Fully over-collateralized with Bitcoin, the Bitcoin Dollar will be secured on Alpen's zero-knowledge (ZK) rollup, designed to be Bitcoin's most reliable bridge, ensuring unparalleled security. Unlike centralized alternatives, it will operate as a neutral protocol, free from governance or speculative tokens, with immutable code from the moment of deployment.

Based on Liquity V2's censorship-minimized architecture, the Bitcoin Dollar will eliminate reliance on centralized intermediaries. By integrating battle-tested oracles alongside Alpen's ZK rollup, the Bitcoin Dollar minimizes trust assumptions and mitigates risks, aiming to deliver a stablecoin that aligns with Bitcoin's ethos of freedom and resilience.

Innovative Technologies Powering the Bitcoin Dollar

At the heart of the Bitcoin Dollar lie two transformative technologies that amplify its potential:

• Liquity V2 powers the protocol with user-set interest rates and enhanced capital efficiency, all while preserving a governance-free, censorship-resistant design that upholds Bitcoin's decentralized ideals.
• Alpen's ZK rollup, currently live on testnet, will be used to deploy BTD. Alpen marks a historic leap in Bitcoin scaling, enabling BTC to be used in a fully expressive layer 2, with strictly the highest security, lowest trust bridge technically possible.

Together, these innovations aim to make the Bitcoin Dollar a stable, collateral-efficient asset that as much as possible matches the integrity of Bitcoin's rails, offering users a powerful financial tool that prioritizes privacy, accessibility, and efficiency in a trust-minimized ecosystem.

"The Bitcoin Dollar will match Bitcoin's rails—with the stability users need, without sacrificing freedom," said Seroy. "This is Bitcoin's financial stack, reimagined."

"Every builder dreams of turning Bitcoin's raw resilience into practical utility—and the Bitcoin Dollar on Alpen delivers. By harnessing Liquity V2's battle-tested, zero-governance architecture on a Bitcoin ZK rollup, it mints a censorship-resistant stablecoin that honors Bitcoin's ethos while offering real-yield dollar stability. This is the breakthrough we've been waiting for— where unstoppable Bitcoin meets a robust dollar." — Samrat Lekhak, Head of Ecosystem, Liquity

A Commitment to Bitcoin's Future

Alpen Labs is supporting the development of the Bitcoin Dollar as a neutral protocol, not a corporate product.

"This is about building neutral tools the Bitcoin economy needs to thrive globally," Seroy emphasized.

While oracles remain a dependency, the Bitcoin Dollar mitigates risks by aggregating data from multiple providers.

"No system is perfect, but we're building today's best solution while pushing for tomorrow's ideal," said Seroy.

How to Join the Alpen Testnet

Developers and users can explore Bitcoin applications on the Alpen testnet, currently live at alpenlabs.io, to experiment with BTC-based decentralized solutions and shape Bitcoin's financial future. Users can join the community on Discord or follow on X at @AlpenLabs.

About Alpen Labs

Alpen Labs unlocks Bitcoin's potential through ZK rollups, enabling decentralized lending, trading, and stablecoins without sacrificing security or decentralization. Founded in New York by four MIT graduates and backed by leading investors, including Castle Island Ventures, Ribbit Capital, and Stillmark, Alpen Labs is building a world where Bitcoin's ideals power financial freedom.

About Liquity V2

Liquity V2 is a decentralized borrowing protocol that allows users to borrow against their ETH. Powered by its ETH-backed stablecoin, BOLD, Liquity V2 combines market-driven interest rates, high loan-to-value ratios, and an immutable design to offer self-sovereign borrowing on Ethereum.

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SOURCE Alpen Labs