Circle to launch wrapped BTC on Ethereum for institutional use
Circle plans cirBTC, a bitcoin-backed token on Ethereum, Arc and Circle Mint, redeemable 1:1 for BTC and aimed at OTC desks, market makers and lending protocols, challenging WBTC and cbBTC.
Circle announced cirBTC, a wrapped Bitcoin token launching first on Ethereum and redeemable 1:1 for BTC. The product is aimed at institutional users, including over-the-counter trading desks, market makers and lending protocols.
The asset will be available on Ethereum, with plans to expand to Arc, Circle’s layer-1 network, and to Circle Mint, the company’s institutional platform. No specific launch date was provided; Ethereum will be the first network to support the token.
Wrapped bitcoin products allow holders to use BTC on other blockchains by issuing a token that is fully backed by reserves of the underlying asset. Moving Bitcoin liquidity onto Ethereum enables access to decentralized finance trading, lending and collateral tools without selling BTC.
In its announcement, Circle described cirBTC as a “highly secure and neutral version of wrapped BTC.” The company is positioning the token for professional counterparties that require on-chain settlement, collateral management and inventory deployment.
The market for wrapped bitcoin is currently led by BitGo’s Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) and Coinbase Wrapped Bitcoin (cbBTC). WBTC has a market capitalization of about $8 billion with roughly 119,157 tokens in circulation. Coinbase launched cbBTC in September 2024; it holds a market capitalization near $5.9 billion with approximately 88,800 tokens outstanding. Combined, WBTC and cbBTC represent about 208,000 BTC in wrapped formats. WBTC’s supply is below its November 2021 peak.
Other exchanges operate smaller wrapped Bitcoin tokens, including Kraken (KBTC), Gate (GTBTC), Binance (BBTC), Huobi (HBTC) and OKX (XBTC). For a closer look at fees, features and available services, see our roundup of the best crypto exchanges in 2026.
Circle plans to integrate cirBTC with Circle Mint to streamline minting and redemption for institutions. Wrapped tokens are issued against BTC held with a custodian and can be redeemed on demand, allowing movement between native Bitcoin and its tokenized form on Ethereum and, once live, Arc. OTC desks could use cirBTC to settle trades on-chain, while market makers and lending protocols could deploy it as collateral or liquidity in DeFi applications.
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