Bitcoin stands as one of humanity’s most remarkable financial innovations — a decentralised digital store of value that has grown to command a staggering $1.9 trillion market capitalisation. Yet for all its success in preserving wealth, Bitcoin’s true potential remains largely untapped. The vast majority of Bitcoin sits idle in wallets, disconnected from the innovative possibilities of modern financial applications.

Today, we’re excited to introduce Pivotal — a new protocol that reimagines Bitcoin’s role in the global economy by transforming the world’s largest digital asset from a static store of value into an accessible, yield-generating force for mainstream adoption.

The Missing Piece in Bitcoin’s Evolution

Bitcoin’s journey has been nothing short of revolutionary. It solved the double-spend problem, introduced true digital scarcity, and created a censorship-resistant store of value that operates beyond the reach of any single entity. These innovations have driven remarkable adoption, with millions of users worldwide trusting Bitcoin to preserve their wealth.

However, a crucial question remains unanswered: How can we make Bitcoin work for its holders whilst maintaining its fundamental properties of security and decentralisation?

Bridging Bitcoin with Modern Financial Innovation

At Pivotal, we’re addressing this challenge head-on by building on three core pillars:

1. Enterprise-Grade Security: Through our partnership with Ceffu’s institutional-grade custody solutions, we ensure that users’ Bitcoin remains as secure as in cold storage whilst being put to work.

2. Proven Technology: Built on the MIT-licensed OP Stack and powered by Babylon’s Bitcoin staking infrastructure, Pivotal combines battle-tested technology with cutting-edge innovation.

3. Mainstream Accessibility: Through strategic partnerships with global media and retail platforms, we’re making productive Bitcoin ownership accessible to the next billion users.

The Power of Strategic Partnerships

Our vision is supported by some of the most respected names in the digital asset ecosystem. Babylon Labs, architects of Bitcoin Secured Networks, brings deep expertise in Bitcoin infrastructure. LIF, led by veterans from Goldman Sachs and Binance Labs, provides strategic guidance and institutional knowledge. THORChain, processing $284M in daily volumes, demonstrates the massive demand for permissionless Bitcoin trading.

Looking Ahead: Bitcoin’s Productive Future

The future we envision is one where Bitcoin’s massive $1.9T market cap doesn’t just sit idle but actively participates in driving innovation and value creation. Imagine a world where your Bitcoin holdings automatically generate yield whilst maintaining the security and sovereignty that made Bitcoin revolutionary in the first place.

This is just the beginning of our journey to bridge Bitcoin with DeFi innovation and mainstream commercial applications. We’re excited to work alongside our partners and community to unlock Bitcoin’s full potential as a productive asset.

Stay tuned for more updates as we build this future together. Follow our progress:

• Website: pivotalchain.io

• Twitter: @0xPivotal

• Discord: discord.gg/pivotal

• Documentation: docs.pivotalchain.io

Together, we’re writing the next chapter in Bitcoin’s evolution.

About Pivotal

Pivotal is revolutionising Bitcoin’s role in the global economy by transforming the world’s largest digital asset from a static store of value into an accessible, yield-generating force for mainstream adoption. Built on the MIT-licensed OP Stack, and powered by Babylon’s Bitcoin staking and Ceffu’s institutional-grade custody, Pivotal combines enterprise security with unparalleled distribution through global media and retail partnerships. Backed by Babylon Labs, architect of Bitcoin Secured Networks, LIF, the Goldman Sachs and Binance Labs veteran-led crypto fund, and THORChain, pioneer in permissionless Bitcoin trading with $284M daily volumes, Pivotal is bridging Bitcoin’s $1.9T market cap with DeFi innovation and mainstream commercial applications, driving toward our vision of bringing productive Bitcoin ownership to the next billion users.

We're thrilled to announce our strategic partnership with Ceffu,marking a significant milestone in our mission to transform Bitcoin from a static store of value into a productive force in the global economy.

"The evolution of Bitcoin from a static asset to a productive force in mainstream finance requires institutional-grade infrastructure that never compromises on security. Through our partnership with Pivotal, we're enabling a new paradigm where institutional investors can confidently participate in Bitcoin staking while maintaining the rigorous security standards they expect. This collaboration sets a new benchmark for how traditional finance can engage with Bitcoin's growing commercial ecosystem." - Ian Loh, CEO, Ceffu

Redefining Bitcoin Security Standards

This collaboration brings together Pivotal's innovative Bitcoin staking protocol with Ceffu's institutional-grade custody solutions, creating a secure foundation for Bitcoin's evolution in DeFi. Through this partnership, plusBTC users gain access to:

• Multi-Party Computation (MPC) technology

• Enterprise-grade cold storage solutions

• ISO 27001 and 27701 certified security

• SOC 2 Type 1 & 2 compliant infrastructure

Why This Matters for Bitcoin's Future

The Bitcoin ecosystem stands at a pivotal moment. With $1.9T in market capitalization largely sitting idle, the need for secure, institutional-grade solutions has never been greater. Our partnership with Ceffu addresses this by:

1. Enabling Institutional Participation

   • Enterprise-level security standards

   • Comprehensive risk management

   • Regulatory compliance framework

2. Advancing Bitcoin Utility

   • Secure staking infrastructure

   • Sustainable yield generation

   • Mainstream accessibility

3. Building for Scale

   • Institutional-grade architecture

   • Global operational capacity

   • Future-ready infrastructure

Technical Innovation Meets Institutional Standards

Built on the Optimism Superchain and powered by Babylon's Bitcoin staking technology, our integration with Ceffu creates a secure bridge between traditional finance and Bitcoin's future. This infrastructure enables:

• Seamless Bitcoin staking

• Institutional-grade custody

• Automated security protocols

• Real-time monitoring

Looking Forward

This partnership represents more than just a technical integration—it's a fundamental step toward our vision of bringing productive Bitcoin ownership to the next billion users. By combining Ceffu's security expertise with our deep partnerships across media, retail, and DeFi, we're creating the infrastructure needed to realize Bitcoin's full potential.

Stay tuned as we continue to build the future of Bitcoin utility.

About Pivotal

Pivotal is revolutionising Bitcoin's role in the global economy by transforming the world's largest digital asset from a static store of value into an accessible, yield-generating force for mainstream adoption. Built on the MIT-licensed OP Stack, and powered by Babylon's Bitcoin staking and Ceffu's institutional-grade custody, Pivotal combines enterprise security with unparalleled distribution through global media and retail partnerships. Backed by Babylon Labs, architect of Bitcoin Secured Networks, LIF, the Goldman Sachs and Binance Labs veteran-led crypto fund, and THORChain, pioneer in permissionless Bitcoin trading with $284M daily volumes, Pivotal is bridging Bitcoin's $1.9T market cap with DeFi innovation and mainstream commercial applications, driving toward our vision of bringing productive Bitcoin ownership to the next billion users.

Users can follow Pivotal’’s latest development:

Website | Twitter | Discord | Docs | LinkedIn

About Ceffu

Ceffu is a leading provider of institutional-grade crypto custody solutions, committed to enabling secure and efficient management of digital assets. By combining robust security measures with innovative technology, Ceffu empowers institutions to confidently participate in the evolving digital asset ecosystem.

Our vision is a world where Bitcoin's potential is fully realised - not just as a store of value, but as an engine of global economic opportunity. Our mission is to build the secure, institutional-grade infrastructure that makes this possible, connecting Bitcoin's economy with mainstream innovation and empowering the next billion users to participate in the future of finance.

Pivotal's Vision

To unlock Bitcoin's true potential as the foundation for a more inclusive and productive financial system.

Pivotal's Mission

Revolutionising how the world's most trusted digital asset creates value through secure staking, commercial applications, and accessible DeFi innovation.

Main Takeaways:

• Pivotal and B² Network join forces to enhance Bitcoin staking rewards through triple token incentives

• Cap-3 participants will earn Babylon Points, Pivotal Points, and $B2 tokens

• Partnership leverages B² Network's innovative zero-knowledge rollup technology for Bitcoin

• Integration expands Bitcoin's utility through enhanced smart contract capabilities and improved transaction efficiency

Pivotal expands its Bitcoin Secured Network ecosystem by partnering with B² Network, the first zero-knowledge proof verification commitment rollup built on Bitcoin. This strategic collaboration enables Pivotal's Cap-3 participants to earn enhanced rewards while contributing to the evolution of Bitcoin's practical applications.

Partnership Benefits:

Through this integration, Pivotal stakers participating in the Cap-3 event will receive a triple drop:

• Babylon Points for Bitcoin staking contributions

• Pivotal Points for early participation

• $B2 tokens through B² Network's Finality Provider

B² Network Integration:

B² Network brings several technological innovations to the Pivotal ecosystem:

• Zero-knowledge proof verification for enhanced privacy and security

• Rollup technology enabling Turing-complete smart contracts

• Efficient off-chain transactions with reduced costs

• Integration with Taproot for advanced security features

This partnership represents a significant step toward Pivotal's vision of transforming Bitcoin from a static store of value into a dynamic, yield-generating asset while maintaining its fundamental security properties.

Cap-3 Beta Launch:

Starting December 10, 2024 (11AM UTC), Bitcoin holders can participate in a limited beta program on Pivotal:

• Duration: 1,000 BTC blocks (approximately one week)

• Maximum stake: 5,000 BTC per transaction

• Unbonding fee: 0.00032 BTC

• Rewards: Babylon Points, Pivotal Points and $B2 tokens through B² Network's Finality Provider for early participants

• Distribution:

• • First 300 BTC blocks: 100,000 points per block

  • Remaining period: 21,000 points per block

About Pivotal

Pivotal is revolutionising Bitcoin's role in the global economy by transforming the world's largest digital asset from a static store of value into an accessible, yield-generating force for mainstream adoption. Built on the MIT-licensed OP Stack, and powered by Babylon's Bitcoin staking and Ceffu's institutional-grade custody, Pivotal combines enterprise security with unparalleled distribution through global media and retail partnerships. Backed by LIF, the Goldman Sachs and Binance Labs veteran-led crypto fund, Babylon Labs, architect of Bitcoin Secured Networks, and THORChain, pioneer in permissionless Bitcoin trading with $284M daily volumes, Pivotal is bridging Bitcoin's $1.9T market cap with DeFi innovation and mainstream commercial applications, driving toward our vision of bringing productive Bitcoin ownership to the next billion users.

Users can follow Pivotal’s latest development:

Website | Twitter | Discord | Docs | LinkedIn

About B² Network

B² Network (BSquared Network) is a modular Bitcoin Layer2 solution. It introduces B² Rollup, the first Bitcoin rollup based on zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) verification commitment, and B² Hub, the first Bitcoin Data Availability (DA) layer that achieves finality on the Bitcoin network.

Website｜Paper｜Twitter｜Telegram｜Discord

The Bitcoin Staking Revolution

Bitcoin's $1.9T market cap represents an enormous pool of dormant capital. While Proof-of-Stake (PoS) networks have enabled token holders to earn yield by securing their networks, Bitcoin—despite being the largest cryptocurrency—has remained largely disconnected from this innovation. Until now.

Understanding Bitcoin Staking Through Babylon

Babylon has pioneered a revolutionary approach to Bitcoin staking that addresses several fundamental challenges:

1. Native Bitcoin Security

Unlike traditional bridging solutions that require wrapping Bitcoin or trusting third-party custodians, Babylon's protocol enables Bitcoin staking directly on the Bitcoin blockchain. This means:

• No wrapped tokens

• No bridge risks

• Complete sovereignty over your Bitcoin

• True trustless staking

2. Protocol Revenue Generation

Through Pivotal's implementation of Babylon's technology, Bitcoin stakers earn yield from actual network activity rather than token inflation. This creates a sustainable economic model where:

• Revenue is derived from real protocol usage

• Yield is backed by network growth

• Stakers participate in the network's success

3. Advanced Security Mechanisms

Babylon's protocol employs sophisticated cryptographic techniques to ensure both staker and network security:

Automated Slashing

• Safety violations automatically trigger key leakage

• Smart contract-like behavior without actual smart contracts

• Immediate and automatic enforcement of penalties

Fast Stake Unbonding

• Secure withdrawal mechanism

• No long lockup periods

• Maintained Bitcoin security model

How Pivotal Implements Bitcoin Staking

Pivotal builds on Babylon's foundation to create a seamless staking experience:

1. plusBTC Generation

   • Deposit Bitcoin

   • Receive plusBTC 1:1

   • Start earning protocol revenue

   • Maintain full redemption rights

2. Institutional-Grade Security

   • Ceffu's custody infrastructure

   • Enterprise-level security measures

   • Full auditability

3. Network Synchronisation

   • Bitcoin-secured network

   • Real-time state management

   • Efficient protocol revenue distribution

The Technical Innovation Behind It All

Think of Babylon's Bitcoin staking protocol as a sophisticated financial vault system with three key innovations working together like a well-orchestrated symphony:

Bitcoin Covenant Emulation: The Smart Lock

Imagine a highly advanced bank vault that can make decisions on its own. Traditional Bitcoin transactions are like simple locks that either open or stay closed. But Babylon's covenant emulation is more like a smart lock that can:

• Follow complex rules (like "only open after 3 days" or "only if no alarms are triggered")

• Automatically respond to certain conditions (like locking permanently if someone tries to break in)

• Maintain a record of who accessed what and when

It's similar to how a modern smart home system can automatically lock doors and trigger alarms based on specific conditions, but for Bitcoin transactions.

Finality Gadgets: The Security Control Room

Think of finality gadgets as a high-tech security control room in a bank. Just as a control room:

• Monitors all entrances and exits

• Verifies the identity of everyone entering

• Ensures all security protocols are followed

• Makes final decisions about security situations

Babylon's finality gadgets do the same for transactions, but with mathematical certainty. They act as the ultimate authority that says "yes, this transaction is absolutely final and can't be reversed."

Bitcoin Timestamping: The Synchronized Clock System

Imagine a global network of atomic clocks keeping perfect time across all banks worldwide. Bitcoin timestamping works similarly by:

• Creating an unalterable record of when things happen

• Ensuring all parts of the system are in sync

• Preventing any attempts to manipulate the timing of events

It's like having a tamper-proof security camera system that timestamps every frame, making it impossible to edit or manipulate the footage later.

How They Work Together

These three innovations combine like a symphony orchestra:

• The covenant emulation (strings) provides the foundation

• The finality gadgets (brass) add the security and certainty

• The timestamping (percussion) keeps everything in perfect rhythm

Together, they create something that was previously impossible: a way to stake Bitcoin without wrapping it or trusting third parties.

Real-World Impact

This technical innovation translates into real benefits:

• For Individual Holders: Like having a self-driving car for your Bitcoin - it works for you while you maintain full control

• For Institutions: Similar to having a productive real estate investment that generates rental income while maintaining the property's value

• For the Network: Think of it as upgrading from a static gold vault to a modern financial system that can do more while maintaining the same security

Why This Matters

The combination of Pivotal's platform and Babylon's technology represents a fundamental shift in how Bitcoin can be utilized in the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem. By enabling Bitcoin holders to earn protocol revenue while maintaining complete sovereignty over their assets, we're creating a new paradigm for Bitcoin utility that benefits the entire ecosystem.

Getting Started

Ready to put your Bitcoin to work? Here's how to begin:

• Visit Pivotal's platform

• Connect your wallet

• Deposit Bitcoin and receive plusBTC

• Start earning protocol revenue

What is Pivotal?

At its core, Pivotal is a Bitcoin staking protocol that enables Bitcoin holders to earn protocol revenue while maintaining complete sovereignty over their assets. Built on Babylon's revolutionary Bitcoin staking technology, Pivotal bridges Bitcoin's robust security model with innovative yield-generating mechanisms.

The Power of Bitcoin Staking

Historically, staking has been limited to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) networks like Ethereum, leaving Bitcoin's trillion-dollar market cap untapped for yield generation. has changed this paradigm by introducing trustless, self-custodial Bitcoin staking directly on the Bitcoin blockchain.

Through Babylon's groundbreaking technology, Pivotal enables Bitcoin holders to:

• Stake Bitcoin without wrapping or bridging

• Maintain true Bitcoin security

• Earn sustainable protocol revenue

• Preserve complete asset sovereignty

How Does Pivotal Work?

The magic of Pivotal lies in its unique architecture:

1. Bitcoin-Secured Network: Powered by Babylon's Bitcoin staking protocol, Pivotal operates as a Bitcoin Secured Network (BSN), leveraging Bitcoin's unparalleled security while generating protocol revenue.

2. plusBTC Generation: When you stake your Bitcoin with Pivotal, you receive plusBTC - a yield-bearing token that's always redeemable 1:1 for your original Bitcoin. This isn't just another wrapped token; it's your key to earning protocol revenue.

3. Institutional-Grade Security: Through our partnership with , your staked Bitcoin enjoys the same level of security as leading institutional vaults. Every Bitcoin in the system is fully backed and secured.

What Makes Pivotal Different?

Native Bitcoin Security

Pivotal leverages Babylon's advanced cryptographic techniques and Bitcoin scripts to enable staking directly on the Bitcoin blockchain. This means your assets maintain Bitcoin's fundamental security properties while generating yield.

True Protocol Revenue

The yield you earn isn't based on lending or trading - it comes directly from network activity. This creates a more sustainable and transparent revenue model aligned with network growth.

Institutional Infrastructure

We've built Pivotal on the most robust infrastructure in the industry:

• Babylon's Bitcoin staking technology

• MIT-licensed OP Stack for proven scalability

• Ceffu's institutional-grade custody

Why This Matters

Bitcoin's $1.9T market capitalisation represents an enormous pool of dormant capital. By enabling Bitcoin holders to earn protocol revenue through staking, Pivotal creates a new paradigm for Bitcoin utility that benefits the entire ecosystem:

• Institutions can maintain Bitcoin treasury positions while earning yield

• Individual holders can participate in network growth

• The broader Bitcoin ecosystem gains increased utility and adoption

Getting Started with Pivotal

Using Pivotal is straightforward:

• Receive plusBTC (1:1 ratio)

• Start earning protocol revenue

• Redeem for Bitcoin whenever you want

Looking Forward

This is just the beginning of Pivotal's journey to revolutionise Bitcoin's role in the global economy. In our next post, we'll take a deeper dive into the mechanics of Bitcoin staking and explore how Babylon's technology is making this innovation possible.

Stay Connected:

About Pivotal

Pivotal is revolutionising Bitcoin’s role in the global economy by transforming the world’s largest digital asset from a static store of value into an accessible, yield-generating force for mainstream adoption. Built on the MIT-licensed OP Stack, and powered by Babylon’s Bitcoin staking and Ceffu’s institutional-grade custody, Pivotal combines enterprise security with unparalleled distribution through global media and retail partnerships. Backed by Babylon Labs, architect of Bitcoin Secured Networks, LIF, the Goldman Sachs and Binance Labs veteran-led crypto fund, and THORChain, pioneer in permissionless Bitcoin trading with $284M daily volumes, Pivotal is bridging Bitcoin’s $1.9T market cap with DeFi innovation and mainstream commercial applications, driving toward our vision of bringing productive Bitcoin ownership to the next billion users.

MetaMask​

To add Pivotal as a custom network to MetaMask:

1. Open the MetaMask browser extension.

2. Open the network selection dropdown menu by clicking the dropdown button at the top of the extension.

3. Click the Add network button.

4. Click Add a network manually.

5. In the Add a network manually dialog that appears, enter the following information for Pivotal mainnet:

   Name

   Value

   Network Name

   Pivotal Mainnet

   Description

   The public mainnet for Pivotal

   RPC Endpoint

   Chain ID

   1648

   Currency Symbol

   ETH

   Block Explorer
6. Tap the Save button to save Pivotal as a network.

You should now be able to connect to Pivotal by selecting it from the network selection dropdown menu.

Testnet​

MetaMask​

To add Pivotal Sepolia as a custom network to MetaMask:

1. Open the MetaMask browser extension.

2. Open the network selection dropdown menu by clicking the dropdown button at the top of the extension.

3. Click the Add network button.

4. Click Add a network manually.

5. In the Add a network manually dialog that appears, enter the following information for the Pivotal Sepolia testnet:

   Name

   Sepolia

   Network Name

   Pivotal Sepolia

   RPC Endpoint

   Chain ID

   16481

   Currency Symbol

   ETH

   Block Explorer
6. Tap the Save button to save Pivotal Sepolia as a network.

You should now be able to connect to the Pivotal testnet by selecting it from the network selection dropdown menu.

Pivotal Mainnet

Pivotal Testnet (Sepolia)

Pivotal is built on the release of the , which is designed from the ground up to be as close to Ethereum as possible.

As such, there are very few differences when it comes to building on Pivotal and Ethereum.

However, there are still some minor discrepancies between the behavior of Pivotal and Ethereum that you should be aware of when building apps on top of Pivotal.

These minor differences include:

How do network fees on Pivotal work?

Every Pivotal transaction consists of two costs: an L2 (execution) fee and an L1 (security) fee. The L2 fee is the cost to execute your transaction on the L2, and the L1 fee is the estimated cost to publish the transaction on the L1. Typically the L1 security fee is higher than the L2 execution fee.

The L1 fee will vary depending on the amount of transactions on the L1. If the timing of your transaction is flexible, you can save costs by submitting transactions during periods of lower gas on the L1 (for example, over the weekend)

Similarly, the L2 fee can increase and decrease depending on how many transactions are being submitted to the L2. This adjustment mechanism has the same implementation as the L1.\

Execution Gas Fee

A transaction's execution gas fee is exactly the same fee that you would pay for the same transaction on Ethereum. This fee is equal to the amount of gas used by the transaction multiplied by the gas price attached to the transaction.

Like Ethereum, Pivotal uses the mechanism to set the for transactions. The total price per unit gas that a transaction pays is the sum of the and the optional additional .

Because Pivotal is EVM equivalent, the gas used by a transaction on Pivotal is exactly the same as the gas used by the same transaction on Ethereum. If a transaction costs 100,000 gas on Ethereum, it will cost 100,000 gas on Pivotal The only difference is that the gas price on Pivotal is much lower than the gas price on Ethereum so you'll end up paying much less in ETH.

For this component of the fee, you can estimate the total cost of a transaction using the same tools you would use to estimate the cost of a transaction on Ethereum. You can read more about how Ethereum's gas fees work over on .

Base Fee

The is the minimum price per unit of gas that a transaction must pay to be included in a block. Transactions must specify a maximum base fee higher than the block base fee to be included. The actual fee charged is the block base fee, even if the transaction specifies a higher maximum base fee.

The Pivotal base fee behaves exactly like the Ethereum base fee with a few small parameter changes to account for the much shorter block times on Pivotal. None of these parameters should significantly impact your application, but you can read more about each of these parameters on the page. Read more about the base fee in the .

Priority Fee

Just like on Ethereum, Pivotal transactions can specify a priority fee. This priority fee is a price per unit of gas that is paid on top of the base fee. For example, if the block base fee is 1 gwei and the transaction specifies a priority fee of 1 gwei, the total price per unit of gas is 2 gwei. The priority fee is an optional component of the execution gas fee and can be set to 0.

L1 Data Fee

The L1 Data Fee is the only part of the Pivotal transaction fee that differs from the Ethereum transaction fee. This fee arises from the fact that the transaction data for all Pivotal transactions is published to Ethereum. This guarantees that the transaction data is available for nodes to download and execute. The L1 Data Fee accounts for the cost to publish an OP Mainnet transaction to Ethereum and is primarily determined by the current base fee on Ethereum.

Mechanism

The L1 Data Fee is automatically charged for any transaction that is included in a Pivotal block. This fee is deducted directly from the address that sent the transaction. The exact amount paid depends on the estimated size of the transaction in bytes after compression, the current Ethereum gas price and/or blob gas price, and several small parameters.

The L1 Data Fee is most heavily influenced by the Ethereum base fee that is continuously and trustlessly relayed from Ethereum to Pivotal. With the Ecotone upgrade, the Ethereum blob base fee also gets relayed to Pivotal, and will become the most important factor for chains configured to use blobs instead of base fee. The base fee and blob base fee are updated on Pivotal for every Ethereum block, and each fluctuates at most by 12.5% between updates. As a result, short-term fluctuations of the L1 Data Fee are generally quite small and should not impact the average transaction.

💡

The L1 Data Fee is charged automatically. It is currently not possible to limit the maximum L1 Data Fee that a transaction is willing to pay. This is the result of limitations in existing Ethereum transaction formats and tradeoffs that the OP Stack makes to retain better EVM equivalence. Work is underway to improve this situation with the introduction of a new standardized transaction type. For now, you should be aware that the L1 Data Fee can fluctuate with the Ethereum gas price.

Formula

Bedrock

💡

Prior to the Ecotone upgrade, the L1 Data Fee is calculated based on the following parameters:

• The current Ethereum base fee (trustlessly relayed from Ethereum).

• A fixed overhead cost for publishing a transaction (currently set to 188 gas).

• A dynamic overhead cost which scales with the size of the transaction (currently set to 0.684).

The L1 Data Fee calculation first begins with counting the number of zero bytes and non-zero bytes in the transaction data. Each zero byte costs 4 gas and each non-zero byte costs 16 gas. This is the same way that Ethereum calculates the gas cost of transaction data.

After calculating the gas cost of the transaction data, the fixed and dynamic overhead values are applied.

Finally, the total L1 Data Fee is calculated by multiplying the total gas cost by the current Ethereum base fee.

Ecotone

💡

The pricing function changes with Ecotone upgrade because of the introduction of the option to post transaction batches to the L1 using blobs instead of through L1 calldata. This updated function uses the following parameters:

• The current Ethereum base fee and/or blob base fee (trustlessly relayed from Ethereum).

• Two new scalar parameters that independently scale the base fee and blob base fee.

At the exact point of the Ecotone upgrade, the dynamic overhead parameter value is used to initialize the Ecotone base fee scalar, and blob base fee is set to 0. The overhead parameter from the previous function becomes ignored.

The Ecotone L1 Data Fee calculation begins with counting the number of zero bytes and non-zero bytes in the transaction data. Each zero byte costs 4 gas and each non-zero byte costs 16 gas. This value, when divided by 16, can be thought of as a rough estimate of the size of the transaction data after compression.

Next, the two scalars are applied to the base fee and blob base fee parameters to compute a weighted gas price multiplier.

The l1 data fee is then:

Pivotal is being built on the of the OP (Optimism) Stack which is designed to make Optimism as close & equivalent as possible to Ethereum. The Bedrock release brings maximum compatibility with the existing Ethereum developer experience.

Current OP Stack landscape. Credit:

The OP Stack is a series of modules across the consensus, execution and settlement layers that work together to form coherent and reliable blockchains. The Bedrock release has streamlined the ability to swap out different components of the OP Stack codebase and add new functionalities & capabilities.

This modular architecture allows you to not only modify specific modules but swap them out entirely (for example swapping out Ethereum in favour of Celestia for the data availability layer).

The above diagram from the Optimism Collective highlights how modules can be swapped out across the Consensus, Execution and Settlement Layers. The items highlighted in white are modules that were released as a part of the Bedrock upgrade, whereas the items highlighted in yellow represent WIPs or simply are there to emphasise that you could create your own new module to provide functionality to that particular layer - hence the “Pokemon?!” callout.

The Ethereum Virtual Machine is a piece of software that executes smart contracts & computes the state of the Ethereum network after each new block is added.

The Optimistic Rollup

Pivotal combines off-chain transactions together in batches before sending them to Ethereum, which enables the spreading of fixed costs across multiple transactions in each batch - leading to reduced fees for those using Pivotal and other Optimistic rollups.

Interaction with Ethereum

Rollups built using the OP Stack interact with the Layer 1 through a series of smart contracts deployed on the Ethereum network. There are two key components of the optimistic rollup architecture:

On-chain Contracts: The optimistic rollup utilises smart contracts running on Ethereum. This includes contracts that: store rollup blocks, monitor state updates on the rollup, and track user deposits.

Off-chain Virtual Machine: Computation and state storage occur on Pivotal and not the Ethereum Virtual Machine. This off-chain virtual machine is where applications live and operate.

Introduction to Sequencers

L2s built on the OP Stack, such as Pivotal, have sequencer(s) that post data to the underlying L1 (Ethereum).

A sequencer has the task of accurately executing transactions received.

Core sequencer tasks

• Provides transaction confirmations and state updates

• Constructs and executes L2 blocks

• Submits user transactions to the L1 (Ethereum)

Pivotal blocks are produced every two seconds, regardless of whether they are empty (no transactions), filled up to the block gas limit with transactions, or somewhere in the middle.

Transactions Get to the Sequencer in Two Ways

1. Transactions submitted on the L1 (which are called deposits in the OP Stack) are included in the chain in the appropriate L2 block. Every L2 block is identified by the ‘Epoch’, which is the L1 (Ethereum) block to which it corresponds. The first block of the epoch includes all the deposits that happened in the L1 block to which it corresponds. If a sequencer attempts to ignore a legitimate L1 transaction it ends up with a state that is inconsistent with the verifiers, just as if the sequencer attempted to fake the state through another mechanism. This provides L2s built using the OP Stack with Ethereum level censorship resistance.

2. Transactions submitted directly to the sequencer on the L2.

The Requirements for the Processing of a Rollup Transaction

1. The transaction needs to be written to L1 (Ethereum). This role is normally performed by op-batcher, but any user can send an L1 transaction to submit an L2 transaction (known as "forced inclusion"), in which case op-batcher is bypassed.

Compression & Posting to the L1 (Ethereum)

Bridging Assets

Pivotal is designed to allow users to send arbitrary messages between smart contracts on the L2 (Pivotal) and L1 (Ethereum), making it feasible to transfer digital assets, including ERC20 tokens, between the two layers. Pivotal uses a smart contract bridge to allow users to deposit digital assets from Ethereum to Pivotal and also to allow withdrawals from Pivotal back to Ethereum.

Moving from the L1 to the L2

In the OP Stack, transactions going from the L1 (Ethereum) to the L2 (Pivotal) are called deposits, regardless of whether or not they involve assets. Deposit transactions become part of the canonical blockchain in the first L2 block of the “epoch” that corresponds to the L1 block where the deposits occurred. The L2 block will usually be created a few minutes after the corresponding L1 block.

Moving from the L2 to the L1

In the OP Stack, transactions going from the L2 (Pivotal) to the L1 (Ethereum) are called withdrawals, regardless of whether or not they involve assets. These transactions have three stages:

1. User initialises the withdrawal with a transaction on the L2 (Pivotal).

2. Wait for the next output root to be submitted to the L1 (Ethereum) so the withdrawal can be proven.

3. After the fault challenge period ends, the proven withdrawal is finalised.

L2 Contract Addresses

Pivotal Mainnet

Pivotal Testnet (Sepolia)

*L2 contract addresses are the same on both mainnet and testnet.

Unneeded contract addresses

• StateCommitmentChain

• CanonicalTransactionChain

• BondManager

Pivotal Faucet​

The Pivotal Faucet provides free testnet ETH on Pivotal Sepolia - one claim per 24 hours.

Superchain Faucet​

The Superchain Faucet provides testnet ETH for all OP Chains, including Pivotal

Blockscout​

A Blockscout explorer is available for Pivotal.

Blockscout provides tools to help you debug smart contracts and transactions:

• View, verify, and interact with smart contract source code.

• View detailed transaction information

A testnet explorer for Pivotal Sepolia is also available

Superbridge​ (Coming Soon)

Superbridge enables you to bridge ETH and other supported assets from Ethereum mainnet (L1) directly to Pivotal.

Supported Networks​

• Pivotal Mainnet

• Pivotal Sepolia (Testnet)

Squidrouter​ (Coming Soon)

Unlock cross-chain activity with speed. Squid provides retail cross-chain apps, out-of-the-box integrations and a fully customizable API & SDK integrations to power accessibility across 70+ EVM and Cosmos chains and enable interoperability.

Squid has securely routed over 900K transactions and more than 1.5 billion dollars in volume.

Supported Networks​

• Pivotal Mainnet

• Pivotal Sepolia (Testnet)

Alchemy Account Kit​

Account Kit is a complete solution for account abstraction. Using Account Kit, you can create a smart contract wallet for every user that leverages account abstraction to simplify every step of your app's onboarding experience. It also offers Gas Manager and Bundler APIs for sponsoring gas and batching transactions.

Biconomy​

Biconomy is an Account Abstraction toolkit that enables you to provide the simplest UX for your dapp or wallet. It offers modular smart accounts, as well as paymasters and bundlers as a service for sponsoring gas and executing transactions at scale.

Coinbase Account Abstraction Kit​

The Coinbase Developer Platform Account Abstraction Kit is an account abstraction toolkit for building simple onchain user experiences. Account Abstraction Kit provides a paymaster and bundler that allows you to sponsor gas fees and bundle user transactions, improving the user experience of your application.

Openfort​

Openfort is an infrastructure provider designed to simplify the development of games and gamified experiences across their suite of API endpoints. The platform vertically integrates the AA stack, so game developers can focus on game development without worrying about private key management, the account model or the onchain interactions with paymasters and bundlers. The Openfort platform is compatible with most EVM chains, including Base.

Pimlico​

Pimlico provides an infrastructure platform that makes building smart accounts simpler. If you are developing, an ERC-4337 smart account, they provide bundlers, verifying paymasters, ERC-20 paymasters, and much more.

Safe​

Safe provides modular smart account infrastructure and account abstraction stack via their Safe{Core} Account Abstraction SDK, API, and Protocol.

Stackup​

Stackup provides smart account tooling for building account abstraction within your apps. They offer Paymaster and Bundler APIs for sponsoring gas and sending account abstraction transactions.

WalletKit​

WalletKit is an all-in-one platform for adding smart, gasless wallets to your app. It has integrated support for ERC 4337 and comes with a paymaster and bundler included, requiring no extra setup.

WalletKit also offers pre-built components for onboarding users with email and social logins, which can be integrated in under 15 minutes using their React SDK or the wagmi connector. Alternatively, build completely bespoke experiences for your users using WalletKit's Wallets API.

WalletKit is compatible with most EVM chains, including Base. You can check out the WalletKit documentation here. Start building for free on the Base testnet today.

ZeroDev​

ZeroDev is an embedded wallet powered by account abstraction. It offers you the ability to create self-custody wallets for your users, sponsor gas, and simplify user flows by batching and automating transactions.

This tutorial will walk you through setting up your own node on Pivotal.

Objectives​

By the end of this tutorial you should be able to:

• Deploy and sync a Pivotal node

Prerequisites​

If you're just getting started and need an RPC URL, you can use our free endpoints:

• Mainnet: https://mainnet.pivotalprotocol.com

• Testnet (Sepolia): https://sepolia.pivotalprotocol.com

Note: Our RPCs are rate-limited, they are not suitable for production apps.

Hardware requirements​

We recommend you have this configuration to run a node:

• 8-Core CPU

• at least 16 GB RAM

• an SSD drive with at least 750GB (full node) or 4.5TB (archive node) free

Docker​

This tutorial assumes you are familiar with Docker and have it running on your machine.

L1 RPC URL​

You'll need your own L1 RPC URL. This can be one that you run yourself, or via a third-party provider.

Running a Node​

1. Clone the repo.

2. Ensure you have an Ethereum L1 full node RPC available (not Pivotal), and set OP_NODE_L1_ETH_RPC & OP_NODE_L1_BEACON (in the .env.* file if using docker-compose). If running your own L1 node, it needs to be synced before Pivotal will be able to fully sync.

3. Uncomment the line relevant to your network (.env.sepolia, or .env.mainnet) under the 2 env_file keys in docker-compose.yml.

4. Run docker compose up. Confirm you get a response from:

curl -d '{"id":0,"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"eth_getBlockByNumber","params":["latest",false]}' \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" http://localhost:8545

Snapshots​

If you're a prospective or current Pivotal Node operator and would like to restore from a snapshot to save time on the initial sync, it's possible to always get the latest available snapshot of the Pivotal chain on mainnet and/or testnet by using the following CLI commands. The snapshots are updated every week.

Restoring from snapshot​

In the home directory of your Pivotal Node, create a folder named geth-data. If you already have this folder, remove it to clear the existing state and then recreate it. Next, run the following code and wait for the operation to complete.

Testnet (Full)

wget https://sepolia-full-snapshots.pivotalprotocol.com/$(curl https://sepolia-full-snapshots.pivotalprotocol.com/latest)

Testnet (Archive)

wget https://sepolia-archive-snapshots.pivotalprotocol.com/$(curl https://sepolia-archive-snapshots.pivotalprotocol.com/latest)

Mainnet (Full)

wget https://mainnet-full-snapshots.pivotalprotocol.com/$(curl https://mainnet-full-snapshots.pivotalprotocol.com/latest)

Mainnet (Archive)

wget https://mainnet-archive-snapshots.pivotalprotocol.com/$(curl https://mainnet-archive-snapshots.pivotalprotocol.com/latest)

You'll then need to untar the downloaded snapshot and place the geth subfolder inside of it in the geth-data folder you created (unless you changed the location of your data directory).

Return to the root of your Pivotal node folder and start your node.

cd ..
docker compose up --build

Your node should begin syncing from the last block in the snapshot.

Check the latest block to make sure you're syncing from the snapshot and that it restored correctly. If so, you can remove the snapshot archive that you downloaded.

Syncing​

You can monitor the progress of your sync with:

echo Latest synced block behind by: $((($(date +%s)-$( \
  curl -d '{"id":0,"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"optimism_syncStatus"}' \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" http://localhost:7545 | \
  jq -r .result.unsafe_l2.timestamp))/60)) minutes

You'll also know that the sync hasn't completed if you get Error: nonce has already been used if you try to deploy using your node.

Hardhat

Hardhat is an Ethereum development environment for flexible, extensible, and fast smart contract development.

You can use Hardhat to edit, compile, debug, and deploy your smart contracts to Pivotal.

Using Hardhat with Pivotal

To configure Hardhat to deploy smart contracts to Pivotal, update your project’s hardhat.config.ts file by adding Pivotal as a network:

networks: {
   // for mainnet
   "pivotal-mainnet": {
     url: 'https://mainnet.thepivotal.xyz',
     accounts: [process.env.PRIVATE_KEY as string],
     gasPrice: 1000000000,
   },
   // for Sepolia testnet
   "pivotal-sepolia": {
     url: "https://sepolia.thepivotal.xyz",
     accounts: [process.env.PRIVATE_KEY as string],
     gasPrice: 1000000000,
   },
   // for local dev environment
   "pivotal-local": {
     url: "http://localhost:8545",
     accounts: [process.env.PRIVATE_KEY as string],
     gasPrice: 1000000000,
   },
 },
 defaultNetwork: "pivotal-local",

Foundry

Foundry is a smart contract development toolchain.

With Foundry you can manage your dependencies, compile your project, run tests, deploy smart contracts, and interact with the chain from the command-line and via Solidity scripts.

Check out the Foundry Book to get started with using Foundry with Pivotal.

Using Foundry with Pivotal

Foundry supports Pivotal out-of-the-box.

Just provide the Pivotal RPC URL and Chain ID when deploying and verifying your contracts.

Mainnet​

Deploying a smart contract​

forge create ... --rpc-url=https://mainnet.thepivotal.xyz/

Verifying a smart contract​

forge verify-contract ... --chain-id 

Testnet​

Deploying a smart contract​

forge create ... --rpc-url=https://sepolia.thepivotal.xyz/

Verifying a smart contract​

forge verify-contract ... --chain-id

thirdweb CLI

thirdweb provides an interactive command line interface, allowing you to create, build and deploy your smart contracts and apps.

You can use the thirdweb CLI to create and deploy smart contracts to the Pivotal network.

Visit the thirdweb documentation for more instructions on using the thirdweb CLI.

Creating a project​

Create a new project with thirdweb installed and configured:

npx thirdweb create

INFO

When you create a project for smart contracts or web3 apps there are various configurable options.

For contracts, some options are:

• Create a new contract project using Hardhat or Forge

• Add a new contract to an existing project

• Start from an audited contract base, and add optional extensions

For contracts, some options are:

• Front end applications using Next, CRA or Vite

• Backend applications using Node.js or Express.js

• Choice of TypeScript or JavaScript variants

Deploying a smart contract​

Deploy your smart contracts to the Pivotal network:

npx thirdweb deploy

Publishing a smart contract​

Publish and share a versioned release of your contract onto thirdweb’s registry:

npx thirdweb publish

ethers.js is a JavaScript library that allows developers to interact with EVM-compatible blockchain networks.

You can use ethers.js to interact with smart contracts deployed on the Pivotal network.

Install​

To install ethers.js run the following command:

npm install --save ethers

Setup​

Before you can start using ethers.js, you need to import it into your project.

Add the following line of code to the top of your file to import ethers.js:

const ethers = require('ethers');

Connecting to Pivotal​

You can connect to Pivotal by instantiating a new ethers.js JsonRpcProvider object with a RPC URL of the Pivotal network:

const ethers = require('ethers');

const url = 'https://mainnet.thepivotal.xyz';
const provider = new ethers.providers.JsonRpcProvider(url);

Reading data from the blockchain​

Once you have created a provider, you can use it to read data from the Pivotal network.

For example, you can use the getBlockNumber method to get the latest block:

async function getLatestBlock() {
  const latestBlock = await provider.getBlockNumber();
  console.log(latestBlock);
}

Writing data to the blockchain​

In order to write data to the Pivotal network, you need to create a Signer.

You can create a Signer by instantiating a new ethers.js Wallet object, providing it with a private key and Provider.

const privateKey = 'PRIVATE_KEY';
const signer = new ethers.Wallet(privateKey, provider);

Interacting with smart contracts​

You can use ethers.js to interact with a smart contract on Pivotal by instantiating a Contract object using the ABI and address of a deployed contract:

const abi = [
… // ABI of deployed contract
];

const contractAddress = "CONTRACT_ADDRESS"

// read only
const contract = new ethers.Contract(contractAddress, abi, provider);

For write-only contracts, provide a Signer object instead of a Provider object:

// write only
const contract = new ethers.Contract(contractAddress, abi, signer);

Once you have created a Contract object, you can use it to call desired methods on the smart contract:

async function setValue(value) {
  const tx = await contract.set(value);
  console.log(tx.hash);
}

async function getValue() {
  const value = await contract.get();
  console.log(value.toString());
}

thirdweb SDK is a library that enables developers to build web3 applications and interact with any EVM-compatible blockchain.

You can use the thirdweb SDK to build apps and interact with smart contracts deployed on the Pivotal network.

The thirdweb SDK is available in various programming languages, including: , , , , , and .

Visit the for more instructions on using the thirdweb SDKs.

Install

To install the thirdweb SDK, run:

Initializing the SDK with Pivotal

To get started using the SDK, you must first initialize an instance of ThirdWebSDK, and connect to the Pivotal network by passing in the Pivotal chain.

To initialize the SDK with the Pivotal network and get a contract:

If alternatively you'd like to initialize the SDK with Pivotal Sepolia (testnet), use the following code instead:

Once you initialize the SDK and connect to a smart contract deployed to Pivotal, you can start calling functions on it using the SDK.

Read data on your contract from a connected wallet:

Make transactions on your contract from a connected wallet:

is a JavaScript library that allows developers to interact with EVM-compatible blockchain networks.

You can use web3.js to interact with smart contracts deployed on the Base network.

Install

To install web3.js run the following command:

Setup

Before you can start using web3.js, you need to import it into your project.

Add the following line of code to the top of your file to import web3.js:

Connecting to Pivotal

You can connect to Pivotal by instantiating a new web3.js Web3 object with a RPC URL of the Base network:

Once you have created a provider, you can use it to read data from the Pivotal network.

For example, you can use the getBlockNumber method to get the latest block:

Before you can deploy a contract to the Pivotal network using web3.js, you must first create an account.

You can create an account by using web3.eth.accounts:

You can use web3.js to interact with a smart contract on Pivotal by instantiating a Contract object using the ABI and address of a deployed contract:

Once you have created a Contract object, you can use it to call desired methods on the smart contract:

Axelar​

Axelar is an interchain platform that connects blockchains to enable universal web3 transactions. By integrating with Axelar, applications built on Pivotal can now easily send messages and assets between the 50+ blockchains connected via Axelar.

To learn more about Axelar visit our docs. For complete end-to-end examples demonstrating various Axelar use cases please visit the available code examples.

Supported Networks​

• Pivotal Mainnet

• Pivotal Sepolia

Axelarscan​

To view current transactions and live stats about the Axelar network, please visit the Axelarscan block explorer