Rootstock is a sidechain for running smart contracts on Bitcoin. You are not using "Bitcoin" itself, but a 1:1 pegged token called rBTC. It connects to the Bitcoin mainnet through a bridge called PowPeg, and the bridge's security relies on hardware signing devices held by a group of institutions called pegnatories. Understanding Rootstock means understanding how rBTC is created, how it goes back, and who you are really trusting in this process.
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Two Chains, Two Assets
Rootstock launched its mainnet in January 2018. It uses merge mining to share Bitcoin's hash power, and currently more than 85% of Bitcoin's hash power also secures this chain. Its virtual machine is EVM-compatible, so Solidity contracts and tools from Ethereum can be migrated over.
The asset used to pay for gas and participate in DeFi on Rootstock is called rBTC. It is not Bitcoin, but a token issued on the Rootstock chain that is pegged 1:1 to BTC. Holding rBTC does not mean you hold BTC at a Bitcoin address. The value of rBTC depends on whether the real BTC locked in the PowPeg bridge is fully backed.
The total supply has been 21 million rBTC since the genesis block, and the bridge contract holds the portion that is locked.
How to Get rBTC: PowPeg Peg-in
Converting BTC into rBTC is called peg-in. The entry point is the PowPeg App, and the web version is at powpeg.rootstock.io.
The process has two steps: first, you send BTC on the Bitcoin network to a multi-signature address controlled by PowPeg. After confirmation, the Rootstock bridge contract releases the same amount of rBTC to your Rootstock address. There is no manual approval in the entire process; it is executed automatically by the Bridge contract and PowHSM.
Peg-in has a fixed time expectation: a native peg-in takes about 17 hours to complete. If you use Flyover, a path accelerated by liquidity providers, the time depends on the LP's terms and is usually much faster. A Flyover peg-in takes about 2 Bitcoin block confirmations, roughly 20 minutes.
Once a peg-in is initiated, it cannot be reversed. Double-check the address and amount before sending.
Converting rBTC Back to BTC: The Peg-out Waiting Period
Converting rBTC back to BTC is called peg-out. You send rBTC on Rootstock to the designated bridge contract address. After enough confirmations, the PowHSM signs a Bitcoin transaction that releases the same amount of BTC to your Bitcoin address.
The waiting time for a native peg-out is a security mechanism by design. The PowHSM will only sign the release command after seeing 4000 Rootstock block confirmations, which corresponds to roughly 100 Bitcoin blocks of cumulative work. Official documentation gives an estimated completion time of about 34 hours. Rootstock co-founder Sergio Lerner mentioned a waiting period of about 36 hours in public discussions.
A Flyover peg-out can shorten this wait to about 10 Rootstock block confirmations, roughly 5 minutes, at the cost of relying on the liquidity provider's quote and availability.
What You Are Really Trusting
Merge mining ties Rootstock's consensus security to Bitcoin's hash power, but the bridge's security logic is different.
PowPeg's signing authority is distributed among a group of pegnatories. Each pegnatory runs a powpeg-node and a PowHSM. The PowHSM is a hardware security module that stores private key shards. It only signs when the Bridge contract gives a command backed by enough cumulative proof of work.
The current signing threshold is 5-of-9, with plans to expand to 20 members. A single pegnatory cannot control the locked assets, but in theory, a majority of pegnatories colluding could threaten the security of the BTC in the bridge. Third-party risk analyses compare this architecture to the multi-signature model of the Ronin Bridge and point out that trust concentration is a risk dimension Rootstock needs to keep watching. Rootstock's own defense logic is that even if a majority of signers collude, the PowHSM firmware and SPV validation rules limit them to only delaying peg-outs. They cannot bypass the cumulative work requirement to directly withdraw BTC.
Practical Judgment When Moving Across Chains
If you want to move assets from Rootstock to Ethereum or other chains, you are not using PowPeg. Instead, you use cross-chain protocols like LayerZero. rBTC and RIF tokens have been integrated into more than 100 chains through LayerZero. The security model of these cross-chain bridges is completely different from PowPeg and needs to be evaluated separately.
Address and Gas Compatibility Pitfalls
Rootstock is EVM-compatible, but not exactly the same as Ethereum. The differences can affect whether your operations succeed.
Address checksums are different. Rootstock includes the Chain ID (30) when calculating address checksums, so the same hexadecimal address will have a different valid uppercase/lowercase form on Rootstock and Ethereum. Wallets that support Rootstock, such as MetaMask with a custom network added, handle this automatically. Copying an Ethereum address directly to Rootstock may cause the node or wallet to reject it.
Derivation paths are different. The same mnemonic phrase generates different private keys and address sets on Rootstock and Ethereum. If you use the same hardware wallet to manage both chains, you need to select the corresponding derivation path in the wallet software, otherwise you will not see your assets on Rootstock.
Gas calculation is different. RVM and EVM opcodes are compatible, but some opcodes have different gas pricing, especially SLOAD and SSTORE. The total gas consumption of the same contract call may differ. This is not something you can control, but it affects the accuracy of transaction fee estimates.
If a Peg-out Has Not Arrived for a Long Time
Check whether you used a native peg-out or Flyover. The native path will not release BTC until 4000 Rootstock block confirmations are complete. 34 hours is an estimate, and it may take longer during network congestion or validation delays. You can check the transaction status in the PowPeg App.
If it still shows waiting for confirmation after 48 hours, first check whether the Rootstock network itself is producing blocks normally. Rootstock averages one block every 30 seconds. If the block explorer shows no new blocks for a long time, the problem is with the chain itself, not your transaction. In that case, there is no way to speed things up; you just have to wait.
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References
- Rootstock Documentation·Security model, page published or updated: 2026-06-03; checked: 2026-10-07.
- Rootstock Documentation·Rootstock Foundations, page published or updated: 2026-08-31; checked: 2026-10-07.
- Rootstock Documentation·rBTC Token on Rootstock, page published or updated: 2026-08-31; checked: 2026-10-07.
- Rootstock Documentation·PowPeg App Overview, page published or updated: 2026-08-31; checked: 2026-10-07.
- Rootstock Documentation·PowPeg and the security model, page published or updated: 2026-08-17; checked: 2026-10-07.
- Hindenrank·How Does Rootstock Work? Risk Analysis, page published or updated: 2026-03-11; checked: 2026-10-07.
- Rootstock Documentation·Frequently Asked Questions, page published or updated: 2026-08-19; checked: 2026-10-07.
- Rootstock Documentation·Building the Most Secure, Permissionless and Uncensorable Bitcoin Peg, page published or updated: 2026-08-31; checked: 2026-10-07.
- BingX·After the Liquid Network incident, Rootstock co-founder advocates mandatory "delayed withdrawals" for Bitcoin cross-chain bridges, page published or updated: 2026-09-09; checked: 2026-10-07.
- Rootstock Documentation·Rootstock Stack, page published or updated: 2026-08-31; checked: 2026-10-07.
- Rootstock Documentation·Glossary, page published or updated: 2026-08-16; checked: 2026-10-07.
- Rootstock Documentation·Getting Started with Rootstock Development, page published or updated: 2026-08-31; checked: 2026-10-07.
