Citrea’s mainnet went live on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, opening a Bitcoin-focused application layer intended for lending, trading, and settlement tied to the Bitcoin network. The launch packages a set of core components — a bitcoin-representation asset, a dollar-pegged stablecoin, a user dashboard, and a suite of initial applications — designed to keep settlement anchored on Bitcoin.
Citrea Mainnet Launch Overview
Citrea presents itself as an application layer built to broaden Bitcoin’s use beyond long-term holding by enabling financial activity that settles back to Bitcoin. The project targets both institutional participants and individual users, offering an on-chain environment where lending, trading, and settlement are linked directly to Bitcoin.
Key Features & Components
At the center of the launch is Citrea BTC (cBTC), a bitcoin-linked representation that operates inside Citrea’s application layer while remaining verifiable through Bitcoin using zero-knowledge proofs and BitVM-based mechanisms. This design aims to facilitate movement between layers and support on-chain activity without severing settlement ties to Bitcoin.
Citrea also introduced ctUSD, a dollar-pegged stablecoin issued by Moonpay and powered by the M0 network, intended to provide native liquidity for Bitcoin-based financial applications. According to the launch materials, ctUSD is available to users in the United States (excluding New York) and in more than 160 other countries, connecting on-chain bitcoin collateral with off-chain fiat systems.
Ecosystem & Availability
The mainnet debuted with more than 30 Bitcoin-secured applications, or ₿apps, covering categories such as decentralized exchanges and liquidity platforms, while additional services are planned to follow. The initial ecosystem includes tools for bridging assets, trading, and liquidity provision, and the project emphasizes an infrastructure-first rollout to grow depth and liquidity over time.
To help users monitor activity, Citrea launched a dashboard that tracks bridging, trading, and liquidity provision, serving as a central interface for onboarding and ongoing engagement. The dashboard will reflect user activity as systems mature, and the network’s early integrations aim to settle outcomes back to the Bitcoin layer itself.
Future Development Plans
The project documentation describes a staged rollout where lending and prediction-based applications are expected to arrive after the initial infrastructure is in place. Citrea’s approach prioritizes readiness of core systems first, with ecosystem depth and liquidity to be developed in subsequent stages.
Why this matters
For a miner in Russia running from one to a thousand devices, Citrea’s launch signals another effort to expand Bitcoin’s utility while keeping settlement on-chain. That matters because developments that increase on-chain financial activity can change how Bitcoin is used across services you might interact with, even if it doesn’t directly affect mining mechanics or block rewards.
At the same time, the introduction of cBTC and a widely distributed stablecoin like ctUSD could influence liquidity and user activity in Bitcoin-native markets, which in turn affects service demand around bridging and trading tools that connect to Bitcoin settlements. However, the launch itself does not change protocol-level mining rules or earnings.
What to do?
If you operate mining hardware in Russia, maintain your usual focus on uptime, power efficiency, and local regulations; the Citrea mainnet launch does not alter Bitcoin mining fundamentals. Continue monitoring services you use for withdrawals, custody, or trading, since new application layers and stablecoins can affect where and how users move BTC or on-chain representations like cBTC.
Consider these practical steps: keep firmware and wallet software updated, check exchange and service support for cBTC or ctUSD before using them, and follow onboarding guides on dashboards or platforms you plan to interact with. For context on lending and liquidity trends, you may find reports like the Open Book Report useful, and background on bitcoin-backed credit models is available in coverage of Bitcoin-backed credit.
FAQ
What is Citrea? Citrea is a Bitcoin-focused application layer designed to support trading, lending, and settlement activity tied to the Bitcoin network. The project aims to keep settlement anchored to Bitcoin while enabling programmable financial activity.
What launched with the Citrea mainnet? The launch includes Citrea BTC (cBTC), the ctUSD stablecoin issued by Moonpay via the M0 network, a user dashboard, and an initial set of more than 30 Bitcoin-secured applications (₿apps).
What is cBTC? cBTC is a representation of bitcoin built to operate within Citrea’s application layer while remaining verifiable through Bitcoin, using zero-knowledge proofs and BitVM-based mechanisms to support on-chain activity.
What is ctUSD? ctUSD is a dollar-pegged stablecoin intended to provide native liquidity for Bitcoin-based financial applications; it is issued by Moonpay and powered by the M0 network, and is available in the U.S. (excluding New York) and in 160+ countries.
