In 2023, Robin Linus introduced BitVM—aimed at enabling the verification of zero-knowledge proofs on Bitcoin for trust-minimized bridging.

Since then, BitVM has been implemented by teams like Citrea and others—bringing what was once considered an impossible goal to life and paving the way for production-ready ZK rollups on Bitcoin.

Cryptographer and SNARK researcher Liam Eagen (formerly Blockstream and Alpen Labs) has been a key collaborator from day one, spearheading major efficiency improvements to BitVM proof systems—including the development of garbled circuit schemes affectionately referred to as “BitVM3.”

In this episode of Bitcoin Rails, I sit down with Robin and Liam to discuss BitVM’s evolution following the integration of garbled circuits—an upgrade that improved efficiency by more than 1,000x over prior implementations.

In more detail, we discuss:

- The origins of BitVM and its early success (+ Liam’s initial skepticism and what changed his mind)

- Garbled circuits, the Glocks scheme, and the Argo improvement

- How these new schemes and the development of “Binohash” effect permissionless verification of BitVM proof systems

- Robin and Liam’s new venture @idealgroup with cryptographer @therealyingtong + their ultimate vision for actuating shielded CSV with “the ultimate BitVM bridge.”

This episode of Bitcoin Rails is powered by:

- Best In Slot - the leading API for Ordinals and BRC20 data aggregation and indexing.

- Spark - a statechains implementation advancing Bitcoin-powered payments.

- Citrea - a leading Bitcoin rollup technology and BitVM alliance contributor.

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Intro

03:40 Birth of BitVM and Individual Contributions

11:03 Liam’s Initial Skepticism

14:13 Joining Alpen Labs

16:22 Garbled Circuits: Explained

24:34 Jeremy Rubin’s Role

34:32 The Glocks Scheme

38:23 Leaving Alpen Labs

41:15 Founding the Company Together

42:50 Business Model, Vision and Funding

52:01 Babylon Collaboration and the BABE Protocol

57:01 Permissionless Verification Breakthrough

01:00:26 Bridge Architecture Components

01:02:31 Bitcoin Light Client Dependancy

01:15:32 Final Thoughts