Rootstock is a Layer 2 solution for Bitcoin, bringing smart contract functionality to Bitcoin, enabling fast, cheap, and scalable decentralized applications (DApps) while maintaining the security of Bitcoin.

Rootstock is secured by over 80% of Bitcoin's hashing power through merged mining, ensuring that every transaction benefits from the same proof-of-work security mechanism as Bitcoin itself. Unlike the Lightning Network, which is optimized for fast payments, Rootstock is Bitcoin's DeFi Layer, allowing developers to build everything from lending protocols to decentralized exchanges while using Bitcoin as collateral.

Thanks to its compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), Rootstock supports smart contracts based on Solidity and popular Ethereum tools, making it easy for developers to migrate applications from Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, and other EVM-compatible networks. Rootstock's first white paper was published in 2015, and the network officially launched in 2018.