Circle, the public company behind USDC, is launching its own wrapped Bitcoin token — cirBTC — aiming to give the world’s largest crypto asset broader utility inside DeFi. Circle says cirBTC will be backed 1:1 with native on-chain BTC reserves and fully verifiable on-chain, addressing what it calls a trust gap that has kept many holders from moving Bitcoin into decentralized finance.
“Bitcoin is sitting on the sidelines of DeFi. Not because people don't want yield or liquidity — it's because they don't trust the wrapper,” Rachel Mayer, VP of product at Circle and the Arc blockchain, wrote on X. Circle presents cirBTC as “1:1 backed, on-chain-verifiable, and built on infrastructure the market already trusts.”
How cirBTC will work and where it will live
- cirBTC will debut on Ethereum mainnet and Arc, Circle’s stablecoin-focused blockchain incubated by the firm.
- It will be integrated with Circle’s ecosystem, including USDC and Circle Mint, so institutions and apps using Circle infrastructure can more easily put BTC to work in lending, borrowing, and other DeFi use cases.
- Jeremy Allaire, Circle’s co-founder and CEO, framed the effort as bringing “the same infra that supports USDC, EURC, and USYC to the largest digital asset,” creating what he called “neutral infrastructure for new applications for on-chain BTC.”
Why this matters
Wrapped Bitcoin tokens turn native BTC into an ERC-20 (or cross-chain) representation that can interact with smart contracts and DeFi protocols on networks that Bitcoin itself cannot natively access. For institutions and users who want yield or exposure to DeFi without selling BTC, a trustworthy wrapped token can unlock lending, liquidity provision, and other on-chain strategies.
Competitive landscape and past friction
cirBTC will join established wrapped Bitcoin offerings such as BitGo’s Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) and Coinbase’s cbBTC. Those products already hold large market shares — WBTC remains the largest wrapped option with a market cap near $8 billion, while cbBTC sits near $6 billion.
The market for wrapped BTC has not been without controversy. In August 2024, WBTC’s custodian announced a partnership with BiT Global, a company linked to Tron founder Justin Sun, drawing criticism from parts of the crypto community. Coinbase later launched cbBTC and publicly criticized Sun, who in turn mocked cbBTC as the “central bank of Bitcoin.” After cbBTC’s arrival, Coinbase removed WBTC from its exchange; BiT Global sued, alleging an unfair delisting, though the lawsuit was eventually dropped.
Market reaction
Circle’s stock (CRCL) has been under pressure recently. Shares closed down 0.53% on Thursday at about $90.26 and have fallen roughly 40% over the past six months.
Bottom line
Circle’s cirBTC is an institutional-grade attempt to address trust and interoperability concerns around wrapped Bitcoin by leveraging the firm’s USDC infrastructure and on-chain verifiability. Whether it can shift significant BTC holdings into DeFi will depend on adoption by custodians, exchanges, and major DeFi players — and whether market participants view Circle’s approach as more trustworthy than existing alternatives.
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