Circle Internet Financial, the publicly traded issuer of the USDC stablecoin, has unveiled its own wrapped Bitcoin token called cirBTC. The new token is designed to be backed 1:1 by native on-chain Bitcoin reserves and is positioned as an institutional-grade solution to unlock Bitcoin's utility within the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem.
Rachel Mayer, Circle's Vice President of Product for the Arc blockchain, stated on X that the motivation behind cirBTC is to solve a trust issue. "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," she said. "cirBTC is Circle's answer: 1:1 backed, on-chain-verifiable, and built on infrastructure the market already trusts."
The token will initially launch on the Ethereum mainnet and on Arc, Circle's stablecoin-focused Layer 1 blockchain that is expected to mainnet this year. cirBTC is being built for seamless integration with Circle's existing infrastructure, including its USDC and EURC stablecoins and the Circle Mint issuance platform.
Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire emphasized the strategic move, posting on X: "We are bringing the same infra that supports USDC, EURC, and USYC to the largest digital asset, creating a neutral infrastructure for new applications for on-chain BTC." The company aims to position cirBTC as a "neutral" and "highly secure" alternative for over-the-counter desks, market makers, and lending protocols.
cirBTC enters a market currently dominated by BitGo's Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), with a market cap of nearly $8 billion, and Coinbase's cbBTC, with a market cap close to $6 billion. These existing options have faced controversy; WBTC's custodian partnered with a Justin Sun-connected entity in 2024, leading to community criticism, and Coinbase's subsequent launch of cbBTC and delisting of WBTC sparked a lawsuit that was later dropped.
Circle's shares (CRCL) closed down 0.53% on the day of the announcement, trading around $90.26, and have fallen nearly 40% over the past six months.
