Yona Network

Yona Network is a Bitcoin Layer 2 project that applies the Solana Virtual Machine to the Bitcoin settlement layer. Its core pitch is straightforward: Bitcoin holds more than a trillion dollars in assets but has no native programmability and processes roughly seven transactions per second. Yona sits on top of Bitcoin's base chain, executes transactions at claimed speeds above 10,000 TPS using the SVM, then settles finality back to Bitcoin L1 through zero-knowledge proofs. The project was founded in March 2024 and is headquartered in Dubai, UAE.

The Problem It Is Solving

Bitcoin's security model is its greatest strength and its most significant limitation. The network achieves near-universal trust precisely because it changes slowly and does little beyond recording unspent transaction outputs. That conservatism leaves a large gap: growing demand for Bitcoin-native DeFi—money markets, order-book exchanges, yield instruments—cannot be satisfied at base layer. Earlier attempts to bring programmability to Bitcoin typically relied on federation-based custodians or EVM sidechains, both of which require trusting a third party rather than the base chain itself. Yona's approach is to route execution through a ZK rollup so that correctness proofs, not operator honesty, enforce the system.

Architecture

Yona is built as a modular rollup. Its execution environment is the Solana Virtual Machine, chosen specifically because SVM's parallel transaction processing outperforms EVM under load—the team cites 10,000+ TPS as its performance floor. Transactions are batched off the Bitcoin base layer, processed by SVM validators, and then proven valid with zero-knowledge proofs before being committed to Bitcoin L1.

Three components handle the layers below raw execution:

Decentralized sequencing via Espresso. Rather than a single operator ordering transactions—the most common trust bottleneck in rollup designs—Yona integrates Espresso's decentralized sequencer. This prevents a single point of censorship or manipulation in transaction ordering.

EigenLayer AVS for economic security. The bridge and cross-chain attestation layer is anchored by an EigenLayer Actively Validated Service. Restaked ETH provides economic collateral against malicious validator behavior, extending Ethereum's restaking infrastructure into the Bitcoin ecosystem.

BitcoinOS integration for trustless settlement. Yona committed to adopting BitcoinOS's ZK primitives to handle trustless bridging and eventual full rollup settlement. Under this model, ZK proofs communicate state between Yona and Bitcoin L1 without relying on federated custodians.

The Bridge

The Hyper Canonical Bridge (bridge.yona.network) connects Yona to Bitcoin. An earlier architecture described a BitVM-based design, a cryptographic construction that allows Bitcoin scripts to verify computationally complex conditions. The BitcoinOS integration supplements this with ZK proof verification, so the bridge progressively removes the trust assumptions that BitVM alone would require during an optimistic challenge window. Bridge testnet guidelines are published in the documentation for users who want to test the workflow before mainnet opens.

EVM Compatibility via Neon Stack

In addition to SVM, Yona integrated the Neon Stack to add Ethereum Virtual Machine compatibility. This matters for developer reach: existing Solidity-based protocols can be ported to Yona without a complete rewrite, while SVM-native programs built in Rust run natively. The dual-VM design means Yona can target both Ethereum and Solana developer communities simultaneously and pull existing DeFi protocol codebases toward a Bitcoin settlement layer.

Supported Assets

Yona is explicitly designed to encompass the full range of Bitcoin-layer assets:

• BTC — the base monetary asset
• Ordinals — Bitcoin-native NFTs inscribed on satoshis
• BRC-20 tokens — fungible tokens issued using the Ordinals standard
• Runes — the newer fungible token protocol introduced by Bitcoin's Runes standard

Supporting all four means Yona can serve as execution infrastructure for the entire emerging Bitcoin asset ecosystem, not just BTC transfers.

Babylon Chain Integration

Yona integrated with Babylon Chain, a protocol that enables Bitcoin holders to natively stake BTC—without wrapping or bridging—to provide cryptoeconomic security to proof-of-stake chains. For Yona, the Babylon integration allows BTC to serve as slashable collateral for the network's validators, making Bitcoin itself the security source rather than a bridged or synthetic stand-in. This integration was announced in July 2024 and positions Yona alongside other protocols building Bitcoin-secured PoS systems.

Use Cases and DeFi Applications

With SVM execution and Bitcoin finality, Yona targets the following DeFi verticals:

• On-chain order books. SVM's throughput makes central limit order books feasible—something that EVM has struggled to support at scale. This is the network's marquee use case, positioned as more capital-efficient than automated market makers.
• Lending and borrowing. Bitcoin-collateralized lending without custodial intermediaries.
• Perpetual futures and derivatives.
• Yield farming and stablecoins.
• BTC staking yield via the Babylon integration.

The combination of SVM speed and Bitcoin collateral is intended to attract users who want DeFi exposure without leaving the Bitcoin ecosystem.

Current Status: Testnet

As of September 2026, Yona Network remains on testnet. Public RPC endpoints are available at https://testnet.yona.network/ and https://devnet-rpc.yona.network/. Documentation covers wallet configuration, faucets, and the bridge testnet workflow, indicating an active developer-facing testing phase but no mainnet date publicly confirmed. The Galxe quest integration suggests the team is running community incentive programs to drive testnet participation.

Funding and Team

Yona Labs raised a Pre-Seed round with participation from MH Ventures and Digital Consensus Fund. The company is registered in Dubai. Specific team member names have not been publicly disclosed in official channels. Development is housed under the Yona-Labs GitHub organization (github.com/Yona-Labs).

Solana Ecosystem Context

Yona is a Bitcoin Layer 2 project, not a Solana application. Its connection to the Solana ecosystem is architectural: SVM is the execution layer of choice, and the network bridges to other SVM chains including Molecule, Zeus, and SOON Network. This means Solana-native tooling—wallets, developer frameworks, indexers—can be adapted for Yona without significant modification. It also means Yona sits in a competitive field that includes other SVM-based Bitcoin L2 projects, most notably SOON Network, which takes a similar approach to bringing Solana's execution environment to alternative settlement layers.

Summary

Yona Network occupies a specific niche: a ZK rollup that routes Bitcoin assets through the Solana Virtual Machine, using Espresso for sequencing, EigenLayer for bridge security, Babylon for BTC staking, and BitcoinOS for L1 settlement proofs. The technical ambition is genuine, and the modular stack reads as a thoughtful answer to the trust problems that have plagued earlier Bitcoin L2 attempts. What remains unresolved is the mainnet timeline. All development visible to the public is testnet-stage; no production launch date has been announced. Investors and developers interested in Bitcoin-native DeFi with SVM execution will find Yona worth watching, but should treat the project as pre-launch infrastructure with meaningful execution risk still ahead.