Atomiq Exchange

Atomiq Exchange is a trustless cross-chain decentralized exchange that lets users swap native Bitcoin — both on-chain and via the Lightning Network — directly for assets on Solana, Starknet, and Citrea, without relying on a bridge, wrapped-token custodian, or centralized exchange.

The Problem It Solves

Moving value between Bitcoin and smart-contract chains has historically required trusting an intermediary: a custodial bridge, a multi-sig federation, or a centralized exchange. The collapse of RenBTC during the FTX crisis in late 2022 exposed how fragile validator-model bridges can be. Atomiq Labs, founded in February 2023, set out to rebuild Bitcoin interoperability from first principles — using Bitcoin's proof-of-work itself as the cryptographic anchor rather than adding another trusted layer on top.

How It Works

Atomiq achieves trustless settlement through three interlocking components:

Bitcoin Light Client on-chain. A light client deployed on Solana (and Starknet) continuously tracks Bitcoin block headers and validates proof-of-work. This means the smart chain can verify, without trusting any oracle, that a specific Bitcoin transaction has been confirmed to a given depth.

Proof-time Locked Contracts (PrTLCs). PrTLCs are a novel swap primitive developed by Atomiq Labs that allow vaults on the destination chain to be unlocked only by presenting proof of a valid, confirmed Bitcoin transaction. If the counterparty (a liquidity provider, or LP) fails to send Bitcoin within the agreed window, the user can reclaim funds from the vault automatically — cryptographic guarantees, not promises.

UTXO-controlled Vaults. Assets on the smart chain are held in smart-contract escrows that remain under user control at all times. The vault releases funds only when the Bitcoin transaction is proven on-chain, making the swap atomic: either both legs settle, or neither does.

For Lightning Network swaps, the protocol uses established Hash Time-Locked Contract (HTLC) mechanics adapted to its trustless vault model. The refund window is five days for Lightning swaps and one day for on-chain Bitcoin swaps — enforced by the smart contract, not the team.

Pricing and Liquidity Architecture

Rather than an AMM pool, Atomiq uses a Request-for-Quote (RFQ) model. Users receive competitive quotes from a decentralised network of LP nodes, and because there is no AMM pool and no order book, swaps execute at the quoted rate with zero slippage. LP nodes are non-custodial: liquidity providers operate nodes independently, earn swap fees, and cannot be drained by the protocol itself.

Anyone can run an LP node. The node software is open-source, and the protocol is designed so that LP operators take on no custody of user funds — the cryptographic settlement guarantees mean an LP either delivers Bitcoin and receives the vault payout or loses nothing beyond the opportunity cost of the failed swap.

Supported Chains and Routes

At its peak operation, Atomiq supported the following swap routes:

• Bitcoin (on-chain) to/from SOL (Solana)
• Bitcoin (on-chain) to/from USDC (Solana)
• Lightning Network to/from SOL (Solana)
• Bitcoin to/from strkBTC (Starknet)
• Bitcoin to/from WBTC (Starknet)
• Bitcoin to/from assets on Citrea (a Bitcoin rollup)

Starknet integration launched in April 2025, expanding the protocol beyond its original Solana focus.

Audits and Security

Smart contracts have been independently audited by two security firms:

• Ackee Blockchain Security reviewed the Solana/SVM contracts (published January 12, 2024, under the protocol's earlier name SolLightning). Ackee Blockchain is a Prague-based firm that built the Trident open-source Solana fuzzer and has audited protocols including Lido, Kamino, and Wormhole.
• Cairo Security Clan reviewed the Starknet and EVM contracts (published April 7, 2025).

Both audit reports are publicly available in the atomiqlabs GitHub repository. All Atomiq smart contract code is open-source.

Team and Background

Atomiq Exchange is built by Atomiq Labs, a small team co-founded in February 2023 by Sylvie (CEO) and Adam (CTO). The founding motivation was explicitly the RenBTC failure: the founders wanted to demonstrate that Bitcoin's proof-of-work is sufficient to secure cross-chain settlement without adding new trust assumptions. The project launched publicly in June 2023.

Current Status (August 2026)

On August 20, 2026, Atomiq Labs announced it was taking all swap routes offline. In a public statement, the team cited "numerous sophisticated AI-assisted attacks on our infrastructure" that it could not sustain as a small team. The team emphasized that no user funds were at risk — a direct consequence of the trustless protocol design, which holds user assets in cryptographically secured smart-contract vaults rather than custodial wallets. The web application remained accessible specifically to allow users to claim refunds on any in-flight or incomplete swaps.

The team indicated the decision was not permanent, stating it would "try to come back stronger." Third-party coverage noted that Starknet was actively preparing an alternative Bitcoin bridging integration to restore BTC liquidity access for its ecosystem.

Fit in the Solana Ecosystem

For Solana, Atomiq represented the only live mechanism to bring native Bitcoin (not wrapped WBTC or a bridge-minted token) into DeFi without trusting a custodian. The trustless vault model meant that any SOL or USDC obtained through Atomiq carried no bridge-counterparty risk — it was settled against a Bitcoin transaction verified on-chain. That architectural property made it meaningfully different from cross-chain bridge solutions common on other chains, and positioned it as foundational infrastructure for a native Bitcoin presence on Solana.