Wrapped bitcoin has a trust problem. BitGo's WBTC has led the market since 2019, but a 2023 custody restructuring rattled DeFi protocols and sparked a broader debate about centralization risk. Coinbase launched cbBTC in 2024 as a cleaner institutional option. Now Circle — the company behind USDC — is making its own move.
On June 9, Circle launched cirBTC on Ethereum: an ERC-20 token backed 1:1 by actual bitcoin held in regulated, segregated custody. Reserves are verified through Chainlink Proof of Reserve, letting counterparties check specific Bitcoin wallet addresses on-chain in real time, without waiting for quarterly audits or third-party attestations.
The wrapped bitcoin market totals roughly $12.5 to $13.5 billion — about 1% of bitcoin's total market cap. WBTC holds around $7.3 billion, Coinbase's cbBTC holds $5.4 billion. Circle's pitch is built on neutrality: unlike BitGo and Coinbase, the company doesn't run an exchange, a lending desk, or a DEX. For a market maker or OTC desk deploying cirBTC across multiple venues, that removes the conflict-of-interest risk from the issuer itself.
The product targets institutional participants — lenders, market makers, DeFi protocols, treasury desks. Retail isn't the audience here. Circle plans to deepen cirBTC integration with Circle Mint and expand to additional chains via Arc. Whether it can chip away at WBTC's market share depends on protocol adoption, but Circle enters with something its predecessors lacked at launch: over $75 billion in USDC in circulation and a years-long track record in regulated custody.
