Executive Summary
Citrea, Bitcoin's first ZK rollup project, has successfully completed its comprehensive marketing campaign centered around the "Unfreeze ₿apps" testnet quest initiative. With backing from Peter Thiel's Founders Fund and a total funding of $16.7 million, Citrea positioned itself as the premier solution for making Bitcoin programmable while maintaining its core security principles.
Campaign Overview
Project Background
Citrea represents a groundbreaking milestone in Bitcoin evolution as the first zkEVM (Zero-Knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine) rollup built on Bitcoin. The project successfully raised $14 million in Series A funding led by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, with participation from notable investors including Maven11, Mirana Ventures, dao5, Erik Voorhees, Balaji Srinivasan, and Jameson Lopp. This brings the total funding to $16.7 million, including a previous seed round.
Campaign Objective
The "Unfreeze ₿apps" campaign aimed to:
- Drive community engagement through testnet participation
- Build awareness about Citrea's ZK rollup technology on Bitcoin
- Generate interest among Korean crypto communities
- Establish Citrea as the go-to BTCfi solution
Campaign Structure
The campaign featured multiple engagement touchpoints:
Testnet Quest
Users could access the Citrea testnet through invitation codes and complete various tasks.
Badge Minting
Completion of all testnet activities unlocked the ₿apper Badge NFT.
Korean Market Context
The Korean crypto market presents exceptional opportunities for BTCfi projects like Citrea. South Korea ranks 15th globally in crypto adoption (Forbes 2025). The market is projected to grow from $3.2 trillion to $12.5 trillion by 2033.
Korean crypto investors have shown strong interest in Bitcoin derivatives and DeFi protocols, with the Korean Won becoming the third most traded currency in global bitcoin markets. This positions Citrea perfectly within the Korean market's appetite for Bitcoin innovation.
Campaign Results
Key Success Metrics
- Platform Readiness: Established Citrea's testnet infrastructure for mainnet preparation.
- Community Growth: Expanded Korean community presence through targeted engagement.
- User Acquisition: Generated significant interest in BTCfi applications among crypto-savvy users.
- Brand Recognition: Positioned Citrea as the premier BTCfi solution backed by tier-1 investors.
Technical Achievement
Citrea's breakthrough lies in being the first ZK rollup that actually settles on Bitcoin, utilizing Clementine (BitVM-based trust-minimized two-way peg). This eliminates the need for Bitcoin consensus changes while enabling full EVM compatibility.
Future Outlook
The successful completion of this campaign positions Citrea as the leading BTCfi project. Use the momentum from the "Unfreeze ₿apps" initiative to capture market share within both Korean and global Bitcoin DeFi markets.
Why Partner with HighCrypto?
As the BTCfi sector explodes, HighCrypto helps projects like Citrea capture the Korean market's attention. Our deep understanding of local crypto culture and influencer networks ensures your technology gets the recognition it deserves.