Threshold Network Upgrades Enable Direct, Gasless Bitcoin Bridging to DeFi with tBTC

Threshold Network has rolled out major protocol upgrades and a redesigned website to strengthen tBTC's position in Bitcoin onchain markets, enhancing its role as a trusted tokenized Bitcoin that bridges Bitcoin's capital to decentralized finance (DeFi).

Recent analysis reveals that over 1 million Bitcoin addresses hold more than $100,000, with 157,000 addresses exceeding $1 million and 19,142 addresses holding over $10 million in Bitcoin, representing an estimated $500 billion in value. This concentration has accelerated since U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF approvals in 2024.

Institutional participation has grown rapidly, with holdings reaching $414 billion in August 2025, driven by ETF inflows and corporate treasury strategies. Corporate Bitcoin reserves increased 40% in Q3 to $117 billion, and 172 listed companies now collectively own over 1 million BTC. MicroStrategy remains the largest corporate holder with 640,000 BTC, while U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs managed $169.48 billion in assets as of October 2025, accounting for 6.79% of Bitcoin's market cap.

The upgraded tBTC app simplifies the Bitcoin-to-DeFi experience by enabling direct minting to supported chains like Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, Polygon, Sui, Starknet, BOB, and Optimism with a single Bitcoin transaction, eliminating secondary approvals and gas fees. Redemptions back to Bitcoin mainnet are equally straightforward, maintaining full decentralization.

New features include Use tBTC, which provides an overview of DeFi protocol integrations; Vaults, a dashboard for curated yield strategies; and My Activity, a unified onchain record of user transactions. Gasless minting allows users to deposit Bitcoin without additional costs, receiving tBTC on their chosen chain seamlessly.

Callan Sarre, Co-Founder and CPO of Threshold Labs, stated, "This is a major protocol upgrade that represents Threshold’s maturity as a network. We’ve rebuilt the app to give users a unified experience—mint, redeem, and deploy Bitcoin faster, with confidence and transparency."

MacLane Wilkison, Co-Founder and CEO, emphasized, "Our focus is on building the infrastructure that allows institutions, funds, and corporates to interact with Bitcoin onchain securely. As traditional finance integrates Bitcoin, tBTC ensures participation remains decentralized and transparent."