Acquiring sBTC is the first step toward participating in Bitcoin-native DeFi strategies on Stacks. With sBTC, users can earn yield in BTC, STX, sBTC, or other tokens by contributing to lending, liquidity, or staking programs across integrated apps.

Option 1: Bridge BTC to sBTC

The sBTC bridge allows you to lock BTC on the Bitcoin blockchain and receive an equal amount of sBTC on Stacks. This trust-minimized process is governed by decentralized signers and enables 1:1 minting of sBTC on Stacks and access to protocols like Zest, ALEX, and Velar for earning rewards.

In Leather, you bridge BTC to sBTC natively and monitor your sBTC minting and redeeming status.

Note that the bridge may temporarily hit capacity limits depending on network activity.

Option 2: Swap tokens for sBTC

If you already hold assets like STX or stablecoins on Stacks, you can swap directly for sBTC using DeFi protocols such as ALEX.

These swaps happen instantly via smart contracts and require no custodial handoff. Leather supports:

• Selecting swap pairs (e.g., STX → sBTC)

• Reviewing exchange rates and fees

• Signing swap transactions from your wallet

This method is ideal when bridging capacity is full or when you want to convert existing holdings without moving BTC from mainnet.