Circle Launches "Wrapped" Bitcoin cirBTC as "Whales" Massively Sell Off the First Cryptocurrency: What's New

Circle Expands: USDC Issuer Launches Its "Wrapped" Bitcoin — cirBTC

Circle, the issuer of the second-largest stablecoin USDC, announced the launch of Circle Wrapped Bitcoin (cirBTC). This is a tokenized version of Bitcoin, specifically designed for institutional investors and the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem.

The new asset cirBTC will be backed by physical Bitcoin on a 1:1 basis. Circle highlights transparency as its main advantage over competitors: reserve balances can be verified on-chain in real-time.

"We are building cirBTC on the same principles of transparency and reliability that have already proven effective with our stablecoins USDC and EURC," the company stated.

The product integrates into the issuer's global ecosystem, providing institutional players access to:

Arc platform and Circle Mint infrastructure for rapid issuance;
Multi-chain architecture: the initial launch will be on the Ethereum blockchain and Circle's proprietary Arc solution;
DeFi protocols: compatibility with lending platforms and market makers.

The target audience for the project includes over-the-counter (OTC) trading desks, large institutional traders, and lending protocols that require high liquidity and legal clarity of the asset.

The cirBTC launch comes amid an intense phase of competition for the tokenized Bitcoin market. The main competitors of Circle are:

WBTC from BitGo: an undisputed leader with a market cap of around $8 billion;
cbBTC from Coinbase: a rapidly growing asset, with a market value already exceeding $5.6 billion.