Overview
- Circle has made cirBTC live on Ethereum as a wrapped Bitcoin token that can be minted and redeemed through its institutional platform Circle Mint.
- Each cirBTC is issued at a one-to-one ratio with native BTC held by a regulated Circle entity in segregated custody to keep reserves separate from Circle’s corporate assets.
- Chainlink Proof of Reserve provides continuous onchain verification that circulating cirBTC tokens match the BTC held in custody so counterparties can check backing in real time.
- Circle positions cirBTC as a neutral issuer that does not operate an exchange or lending protocol to reduce perceived conflicts when institutions use the token across trading venues.
- The product enters an established market led by BitGo’s WBTC and Coinbase’s cbBTC and is planned to expand beyond Ethereum via Circle’s Arc network, with adoption and protocol integrations set to determine its market share.