# Overview

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**hBTC is Bitcoin that earns Bitcoin** — self-custodial, transparent, and fully redeemable for native Bitcoin.

Deposited BTC is deployed into DeFi to generate BTC-denominated yield. The primary strategy is to borrow stablecoin assets against BTC collateral (e.g., borrow USDh on Zest), deploy those assets into yield strategies (e.g., stake USDh on Hermetica), and harvest profits back into BTC.

hBTC is a liquid staking token (LST) that accrues yield daily and auto-compounds returns.

The core design principles are:

* **Self-custodial:** Assets can only move via protocol smart contracts; governance changes are timelocked; no centralized custodians.&#x20;
* **Permissionless withdrawals:** Users can withdraw back to native Bitcoin at any time.
* **Full transparency:** All transactions are on-chain and independently verifiable.
* **Automated risk controls:** Pre-defined leverage, delta, and interest spread controls with off-chain keepers; no discretionary manual trading.

{% hint style="success" %}

## Get Started

1. **Open** the [Hermetica app](https://app.hermetica.fi/)
2. **Connect** a Bitcoin & Stacks wallet, like [Xverse](htps://xverse.app)
3. **Stake** your BTC for hBTC
4. **Earn** daily BTC yield
   {% endhint %}


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