Wrapped Bitcoin price today, WBTC to USD live price is $94,539.00, marketcap and chart

About Wrapped Bitcoin

What is Wrapped Bitcoin [WBTC]?

Bitcoin Wrapped is a tokenized version of Bitcoin (BTC) that runs on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain.

WBTC is ERC-20 compliant — the primary consensus standard for the Ethereum blockchain — allowing it to fully integrate into the latter’s ecosystem of decentralized exchanges, crypto lending services, prediction markets, and other ERC-20-enabled decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.

WBTC is also backed by Bitcoin at a 1:1 ratio via a network of automatically monitored merchants and custodians, ensuring its price is pegged to Bitcoin at all times and allowing users to transfer liquidity between the BTC and ETH networks in a decentralized and autonomous manner.

Wrapped Bitcoin was first announced on October 26, 2018, and was officially launched on January 31, 2019.

How is Wrapped Bitcoin created?

The creation of Wrapped Bitcoin brings the world’s leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin into the world of Ethereum’s DeFi ecosystem. WBTC adheres to the ERC-20 standard, and the tokens were created for those who wish to convert BTC to WBTC.

All Bitcoin to be converted is held by a custodian, who participates in the process of minting and burning Ethereum-based tokens. When WBTC is burned, the user can reclaim their balance of Bitcoin from the custodian. During mining, users send Bitcoin to the custodian for storage and receive the equivalent in WBTC. BitGo is the largest custodian of wrapped Bitcoin, and will mine a certain number of WBTC and send them to the merchant’s Ethereum address.

A user who wants to exchange between wBTC and BTC makes a trade — through a centralized exchange or an atomic swap on a decentralized exchange — to transfer the funds to the merchant. Once completed, the user can use the BTC/wBTC as they see fit. If WBTC is converted to BTC, the associated Wrapped Bitcoin balance will be destroyed through a burn transaction.

The WBTC DAO is made up of governing members who make decisions on major upgrades and changes to the protocol. Additionally, these members can act as traders or custodians to manage BTC assets.

What can you do with WBTC?

Since Wrapped Bitcoin tokens adhere to the ERC-20 standard, one can use them across the broader Ethereum ecosystem. This includes trading them on decentralized exchanges — such as Uniswap, 1Inch, and Sushiswap — and exploring decentralized finance opportunities through protocols and platforms that support WBTC.

DeFi opportunities for WBTC range from lending and borrowing to yield farming, token swaps, and liquidity pools. Several protocols and platforms support Wrapped Bitcoin, including Aave, Balancer, Compound, and MakerDAO. Some of these providers may issue native governance tokens for the platform as an additional incentive.

Using WBTC as collateral for a crypto-backed loan could be an interesting option for businesses. Additionally, WBTC holders can earn interest from providing liquidity, although the annual return will be relatively low.

Another option for WBTC is to participate in margin trading, where Wrapped Bitcoin is used for margin trading on Ethereum, stablecoins, and other ERC-20 tokens. Users deploy WBTC to enhance the security of funds while trading. This process is completely non-custodial and powered by smart contract technology.

Who are the founders of Wrapped Bitcoin?

The Wrapped Tokens project, of which WBTC is a part, was not founded by individuals, but rather is a joint venture between three organizations: BitGo, Kyber Network, and Ren.

BitGo, co-founded in 2013 by American computer scientist and entrepreneur Mike Belshe, is a digital asset custody, trading, and financial services company. In addition to being one of the developers of WBTC, BitGo also serves as its original custodian — the entity that holds WBTC tokens and the keys needed to mint more of them.

Kyber Network is a blockchain liquidity protocol that enables the integration of different cryptocurrency tokens and DeFi applications. It was founded in 2017 by Loi Luu, Victor Tran, and Yaron Velner and is based in Singapore. Along with Ren, Kyber Network helped create WBTC and continues to serve as a merchant on its network — the institution that mints and burns WBTC tokens to maintain a 1:1 ratio of tokens to BTC reserves.

Similar to Kyber, Ren focuses on integrating crypto assets and DeFi applications across blockchain technology through solutions like RenBridge, RenVM, and more. The company was founded in 2017 by Taiyang Zhang and Loong Wang.

What makes wrapped Bitcoin unique?

By being the oldest and largest cryptocurrency on the market, Bitcoin has a massive user base and a liquidity pool of several tens of billions of dollars. However, its blockchain functionality is relatively basic by modern standards.

Unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum was built from the ground up to support more advanced use cases by leveraging smart contract technology, giving rise to an entire industry called “decentralized finance.”

Ethereum and its derivative products provide its users with advanced financial instruments such as lending and insurance, which do not rely on trusted intermediaries.

By “wrapping” BTC into the ERC-20 standard, WBTC enables the full integration of Bitcoin-like assets into this advanced decentralized finance environment, bringing massive liquidity to the BTC market.

Additionally, Wrapped Bitcoin makes life significantly easier for exchanges, wallets, and payment services that work with Ethereum: instead of having to run separate nodes for the ETH and BTC networks, they can support WBTC operations using just one Ethereum node.

Finally, the Ethereum blockchain’s faster average block time — about 15 seconds versus 10 minutes, respectively — increases the speed at which WBTC transactions can be made, compared to actual Bitcoin.

How many Bitcoins (WBTC) are in circulation?

There is no predetermined timeline for the issuance of WBTC. Instead, WBTC is automatically minted or burned whenever users buy or sell their tokens for Bitcoin via a system of merchants and custodians.

Since wrapped Bitcoin is always backed by Bitcoin at a 1:1 ratio, the number of tokens in circulation directly depends on the amount of Bitcoin reserves in the WBTC network. As of October 2020, this number was just over 94,000 tokens, with a total value of about $1 billion.

How is the wrapped Bitcoin network secured?

WBTC tokens are secured by the main blockchain on which they operate - Ethereum. In contrast, ETH is secured by the Ethash proof-of-work function, a representative of the Keccak family of hash functions.

Where can you buy wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC)?
You can buy WBTC through several exchanges, both centralized and decentralized, that act as merchants on the Wrapped Bitcoin network. Some of the major exchanges include:

• Uniswap
• Binance
• OKEX
• Huobi Global
• Kyper Network

Bitcoin Flow to Ethereum Wrapped Bitcoin vs Bitcoin

A portion of the circulating supply of Bitcoin flowed into the Ethereum network, corporate treasuries, and exchange-traded investment products (ETPs) in the form of wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) in 2021. According to Arcane Research, while Bitcoin holdings on cryptocurrency exchanges fell by about 1.2%, Bitcoin in corporate treasuries, ETPs, and on Ethereum rose by 0.51%, 0.69%, and 0.98%, respectively. There is currently $10.9 billion worth of WBTC on the Ethereum network, as of February 2022. In addition to Ethereum, WBTC is also available on the Tron blockchain, with a total value of $4.1 million worth of Bitcoin.

Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC): Bridging the Gap Between Bitcoin and Ethereum

Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) is a cryptocurrency token that represents a one-to-one ratio of Bitcoin held in reserve. It is designed to bridge the gap between Bitcoin and Ethereum, allowing Bitcoin holders to participate in Ethereum’s DeFi ecosystem without directly converting Bitcoin to Ether.

How does wrapped Bitcoin work?

WBTC Minting:

Users deposit Bitcoin into a secure custody service.

In return, they receive an equal amount of WBTC tokens.

The custody service holds the Bitcoin as collateral, securing the value of WBTC tokens.

Using WBTC on Ethereum: Wrapped bitcoin mining

WBTC tokens can be used on the Ethereum network just like any other ERC-20 token.

This allows users to engage in various DeFi activities, such as lending, borrowing, and yield farming.

WBTC Refund:

To exchange WBTC for Bitcoin, users can return their WBTC tokens to the custody service.
In return, they receive the same amount of Bitcoin held in reserve.

Benefits of Wrapped Bitcoin:

Interoperability: WBTC allows Bitcoin holders to participate in the Ethereum ecosystem, expanding the possibilities for investment and financial activities.

Wrapped bitcoin price

Liquidity: WBTC tokens can be traded on multiple decentralized exchanges, providing liquidity to Bitcoin holders.

Security: The custody service ensures the security of Bitcoin held in reserve, mitigating the risks associated with direct exposure to Ethereum smart contracts.

By wrapping Bitcoin into a token compatible with the Ethereum network, WBTC offers a convenient and secure way to benefit from the benefits of both Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Wrapped Bitcoin to USD