Circle prepares cirBTC wrapped Bitcoin product to compete with BitGo and Coinbase offerings
The stablecoin issuer behind USDC and EURC is making its move into wrapped Bitcoin, with a focus on serving institutional clients.
Circle, the company behind popular stablecoins, announced plans to introduce its own wrapped Bitcoin product, positioning itself as a competitor to established players Coinbase and BitGo in the institutional market segment.
Unveiled on Thursday, the product named cirBTC is scheduled to debut on Ethereum with full 1:1 backing by bitcoin (BTC), specifically targeting over-the-counter desks, market makers and lending protocols as its primary user base.
According to Circle, the product aims to offer institutions a "highly secure and neutral version of wrapped BTC."
Institutional buyers, who have emerged as major purchasers of Bitcoin, have been increasingly investigating opportunities within decentralized finance. Through wrapped Bitcoin products, the cryptocurrency can operate on alternative blockchains like Ethereum, unlocking access to DeFi applications and protocols.
Beyond its Ethereum deployment, Circle revealed that the new product will simultaneously launch on Arc, Circle's proprietary layer-1 blockchain, as well as through its Circle Mint platform.
Cointelegraph reached out to Circle seeking additional information, but had not received a response at the time of publication.
Circle joins race led by Coinbase and BitGo
The introduction of Circle's wrapped Bitcoin product enters a competitive landscape currently dominated by BitGo's Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) and Coinbase Wrapped Bitcoin (cbBTC).
Launched by Coinbase in September 2024, cbBTC currently maintains a market capitalization of $5.9 billion with a circulating supply of 88,800 tokens.
Meanwhile, BitGo's wBTC remains the leading wrapped Bitcoin token in the market, boasting a market capitalization of approximately $8 billion with 119,157 tokens currently in circulation. Notably, this supply represents approximately half of its November 2021 peak level, which coincided with Bitcoin reaching its cycle all-time high.
Crypto exchanges launched their own wrapped Bitcoin
Multiple cryptocurrency exchanges have introduced their own wrapped Bitcoin products, including Kraken Wrapped BTC (KBTC), Gate Wrapped BTC (GTBTC), Binance Wrapped BTC (BBTC), Huobi BTC (HBTC) and OKX Wrapped BTC (XBTC), though their market capitalizations remain significantly smaller compared to the two market leaders.
Data from CoinGecko indicates that the combined total supply of wBTC and cbBTC amounts to approximately 208,000 BTC.