Self-custodial BTC Staking (Core chain)
Refresher on Core Chain and Core Dual-Staking
Core Chain Overview:
Core is a Bitcoin-aligned, EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain built to merge Bitcoin’s unmatched security with the programmability of smart contracts. Its unique Satoshi Plus consensus blends Bitcoin hash power, Bitcoin self-custodial staking and CORE staking to secure the network.
Self-Custodial Bitcoin Staking:
Core Self-Custodial Bitcoin Staking allows Bitcoin holders to lock BTC directly on the Bitcoin mainnet, secure Core chain and earn rewards in return — all while keeping full custody of their assets.
Key characteristics:
CLTV (CheckLockTimeVerify) Script: BTC is locked for a specific duration. During this period, it cannot be moved until the time-lock expires.
No Slashing: Your BTC is not exposed to slashing. Once the lock expires, you can always unlock and withdraw it.
Self-Custody: You maintain control of your Bitcoin; Core chain simply verifies that your BTC lock is confirmed on Bitcoin network and eligible for securing the network and earn rewards.
This architecture ensures Bitcoin’s native security remains intact while making BTC a productive asset — without relying on bridges or custodians.
Dual Staking:
To enhance yield potential, Core introduced Dual Staking, allowing users to stake both BTC and CORE to unlock higher reward tiers.
Staking BTC alone earns a base yield.
Adding CORE in proportion to BTC (e.g., 1:34,000) unlocks boosted yield tiers, 5-25x the base yield.
Dual staking is optional but incentivized, as higher BTC:CORE ratios lead to higher reward multipliers.
Building Dual Staking Marketplace on Core Chain
The Challenge
While Dual Staking increases yield, it requires users to hold both BTC and CORE — a barrier for many Bitcoin holders. BTC users are often reluctant to purchase CORE due to price volatility or portfolio concentration risks.
This capital asymmetry means:
BTC holders miss out on higher-yield opportunities.
The base yield alone is not enough to attract sufficient BTC participation to secure the Core network.
Lower BTC participation leads to weaker overall network security.
Solution: b14g Merge Marketplace
The b14g Merge Marketplace solves this coordination problem by connecting BTC and CORE holders on-chain. It allows users to pair their assets without directly buying the other.
b14g Advantage:
Preserve native self-custodial BTC staking. BTC remains time-locked in users' wallet on Bitcoin network, secured by CLTV time-locks.
BTC holders can find CORE partners to reach higher yield tiers.
CORE holders can match with verified BTC locks to earn dual-staking rewards.
All interactions are automated, on-chain verifiable, and non-custodial.
How BTC Staking works on b14g
Key Components:
CLTV Time-Lock Script
Native Bitcoin locking mechanism ensuring self-custody.
Relayer
Monitor for valid BTC staking transactions, validate and register confirmed BTC staking position on Core chain.
Core Staking Contract
Records BTC staking delegation; Pays rewards as per Core concensus.
Merge Marketplace
Matching "orderbook" layer that connects BTC and CORE stakers for dual-staking.
Order Contract
Represents your staking position on the marketplace for dual-staking matching; Collects and splits yield between you and CORE stakers.
BTC Staking Flow
Order Creation: Alice creates an order on the b14g Merge Marketplace, defining a reward-sharing ratio for future CORE staking partners and selecting the validators she wants to delegate to.
BTC Lock: Alice locks 10 BTC on the Bitcoin network for 90 days using a CLTV time-lock script.
Proof Verification: Once the lock transaction is confirmed on the Bitcoin network, relayers in Core’s infrastructure detect it and submit the proof to Core chain, making the BTC eligible for securing the network and earning rewards.
Order Activation: Alice’s BTC staking position is now registered on b14g Merge Marketplace as an active order, visible and open for CORE stakers to join.
Dual-staking Matching: Bob, looking to earn yield on his CORE tokens, matches with Alice’s order by staking his CORE. His CORE is sent directly to the Core staking contract — b14g never holds user funds.
Reward Distribution: Order Contract automatically collects rewards and routes them to:
Alice’s staked BTC generates rewards that go directly to her.
Bob’s staked CORE generates rewards that go directly to him.
Dual-staking boost rewards (from staking BTC + CORE) are shared between Alice and Bob according to the reward-sharing ratio defined in the order.
Unlock: After 90 days, Alice redeems her BTC. The whole process remains self-custodial.
BTC Staking Strategy
Self-custodial BTC Staking on b14g combines:
Core’s BTC Self-custodial Staking mechanism (using CLTV time-locks)
Dual-staking matching mechanism via b14g Merge Marketplace, enabling BTC and CORE holders to collaborate for higher yield
There are two main strategies for dual-staking matching, each with a different balance between yield potential and convenience.
Dual-staking Matching
You lock your BTC and your staking position shows up as an open order on b14g Merge Marketplace.
CORE holders can match with your order to form a dual-staking pair.
Reward-sharing ratio is user-defined.
Same BTC lock & order mechanism, but with a hands-off approach.
System automatically matches your BTC with available CORE from the dualCORE vault.
Reward-sharing is defined by the system.
Your Yield
Yield depends on matching efficiency, reward sharing ratio, validator APR.
Range: 0.05% (lowest tier) → 2% (highest tier)
Learn more: What Affects your APR?
Averaged yield based on total BTC and CORE participation under this strategy.
If there’s enough CORE to reach the top tier, everyone earns it; if not, rewards are averaged so nobody drops to the 0.05 % floor rate.
Who It’s For
Choose this if you’re chasing the highest possible APR and don’t mind 0.05% APR if no CORE matches.
Pick this if you want a hands-off, consistent yield with automated dual-staking matching and reward compounding.
Key points to remember:
Your BTC remains fully self-custodial, time-locked in your own wallet on the Bitcoin network, secured by CLTV time-locks.
Only your rewards (in CORE or dualCORE) exist on Core chain, coordinated trustlessly between you and CORE stakers through the Order Contract.
Source of Yield
If you don’t know the source of yield, you’re the yield.
How are yields generated?
Your yield comes from two sources:
BTC staking rewards (Base yield): Your BTC contributes to Core Chain's Satoshi Plus Consensus, helping secure the Core chain and earning you yield in return.
Dual-staking rewards (Boosts): Core Chain offers additional incentives when BTC and CORE are staked together. Through b14g Merge Marketplace, your BTC can be matched with CORE stakers to earn these extra rewards, boosting your APY without requiring you to hold CORE.
What Affects Your APR (using Merge Order strategy)?
Your Merge Order APR depends on three factors:
Reward split
You set the percentage of boosted rewards you keep vs. give the CORE staker. A bigger share for you reduces incentives for CORE stakers, which can slow match speed or reduce available yield.
Example: A 60/40 split (60% to you) offers a high potential APR, but gives CORE stakers less incentive to match—so they may choose other orders with better splits. Without a CORE match at the optimal ratio, you’ll never hit that top-tier APR.
Tip: A 50/50 split often balances match speed and yield.
Match ratio
The amount of CORE paired with your BTC determines your yield multipliers: Base Tier (no CORE matched) -> ~0.05% APR Tier 1 (4,250:1) → ~0.1% APR Tier 2 (12,750:1) → ~0.2% APR Tier 3 (34,000:1) → ~2% APR Partial matches earn at the tier corresponding to the actual ratio. These dual-staking ratio and yield multipliers are subject to change as per CoreDAO Governance.
Tip: Break big stakes into smaller locks so they fill faster. Five orders of 10 BTC each need 290,000 CORE apiece to reach Tier 3, while one 50 BTC order needs 1,450,000 CORE—much harder to fill.
Validator base APY
Each validator allocates a fixed total reward every epoch. When many users stake with the same validator, that reward pool is split among all delegators, so your individual slice shrinks.
Tip: Break large stakes into smaller locks and spread them across different validators to keep your share of each reward pool larger. e.g., instead of staking 50BTC into 1 order -> 1 validator accordingly to this order, you could stake each 10 BTC one order, with different 10 validators.
Supported Wallets
Xverse
MetaMask
OKX
Rabby
UniSat
Trust Wallet (EVM)
Keystone (hardware)
+20 others
You need a Bitcoin wallet to lock BTC and a Core (EVM) wallet to claim rewards.
How to Participate
Guide: BTC Staking (Core chain)FAQ: Self-custodial BTC Staking (Core chain)Summary
Self-custodial BTC staking on Core enables Bitcoin holders to earn real yield while preserving security and ownership. Integrated with b14g’s Merge Marketplace, it becomes more inclusive — lowering entry barriers and connecting BTC and CORE holders for sustainable, dual-asset yield.
b14g transforms Bitcoin into productive capital on Core — fully self-custodial, collaborative, and yield-optimized.
Enjoy your BTC yield!
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