Guide

What is Bitcoin Hyper?

Bitcoin Hyper presents itself as a proposed Layer 2 rollup on Bitcoin, intended to use the Solana Virtual Machine as its execution environment. This page sets out the fundamentals and the proposed architecture.

⚠ Documented vs promised

This site consistently distinguishes between what is documented and verifiable — for example, elements that can be observed on devnet — and what is promised or still in development. This distinction is made explicit throughout the page.

The three-layer architecture

Layer 3 — Applications DeFi · NFT · DEX · Lending · Wallet · Gaming · Oracles · Compliance SVM programs (Rust/Anchor) Layer 2 — Hyper Rollup Execution SVM / Sealevel Sequencing Initially centralised Data availability Under research ⚠ Bridge Canonical Bridge (testing) Layer 1 — Bitcoin (Settlement) Security · Immutability · Finality · OP_RETURN · Taproot
1

Bitcoin — the settlement layer

In the proposed architecture, Bitcoin acts as the settlement and anchoring layer. According to the project's documentation, the Hyper rollup periodically publishes its state commitment — a Merkle root of the current state — to Bitcoin via OP_RETURN or Taproot. This anchoring makes it possible to verify state commitments and to detect subsequent changes, but it does not, in itself, guarantee the correctness of the state, data availability or the security of the bridge.

Stated status: architecture described in the whitepaper | periodic anchoring in development

2

Hyper Rollup — the execution layer

The proposed architecture comprises four main components: execution (the SVM with Sealevel parallelisation), sequencing (transaction ordering, initially centralised), data availability (where the full transaction data is stored, still under research) and the bridge (the BTC↔Hyper canonical bridge, undergoing testing on devnet).

Stated status: SVM reported by the project as running on devnet | data availability and forced inclusion in development

3

Applications — the user layer

The application layer, encompassing, for example, DeFi protocols, DEXs, NFT marketplaces, lending, stablecoins, games and regulatory-compliance tools. According to the project's documentation, the programs are written in Rust and Anchor, with a toolchain similar to Solana's. Actual compatibility, and any adaptations required, should be verified against the technical documentation and independent testing.

Stated status: first SVM programs reported by the project as tested on devnet | application ecosystem taking shape

The four components of a rollup

Every rollup — not just Bitcoin Hyper — rests on these four pillars.

⚡

Execution

The virtual machine that executes smart contracts. The architecture proposed for Hyper uses the SVM and the Sealevel runtime for parallelisation. Transactions that touch different accounts can be executed in parallel, which may increase throughput.

◎ Reported by the project as running on devnet
⬡

Sequencing

The component that determines transaction ordering. It fixes the order of transactions, which has implications for MEV and censorship. The project initially plans a single, centralised sequencer; according to the roadmap, decentralisation is to be carried out within two to four years.

⚠ Initially centralised
⚓

Settlement

The periodic anchoring of the state commitment to Bitcoin. Each anchor publishes the Merkle root of the updated state. The documentation describes an adaptive frequency: more frequent anchoring could shorten the time to finality but would raise transaction costs on Bitcoin.

◎ In development
📦

Data availability

Data availability determines where the data needed to reconstruct transactions and state is stored, and how it is made available. If that data were not publicly accessible, the system would move away from the rollup model with public data availability and towards a validium-type solution. As of 28 April 2026, the definitive solution had not yet been determined.

⚠ Under research

💡 Key takeaways

  • • Bitcoin Hyper presents itself as a rollup: off-chain execution, with state commitments anchored to Bitcoin
  • • According to the project, the SVM brings programmability and compatibility with Solana's developer ecosystem; both aspects remain to be verified
  • • The initial plan relies on a centralised sequencer and a federated bridge, with a two-to-four-year roadmap for decentralisation
  • • Data availability and forced inclusion are still in development: these are critical pre-mainnet milestones
  • • The project presents it as a rollup, not a sidechain. The degree of security inherited from Bitcoin depends on the specific implementation of the anchoring, data availability, the bridge and the verification mechanisms