Circle is officially launching cirBTC: Circle’s own wrapped Bitcoin, a new token backed 1:1 by native Bitcoin.
Circle, issuer of the USDC and EURC stablecoins, is now moving to the wrapped bitcoin game, according to the company’s official X account and website. This move represents an important shift for Circle, as it works towards a more complete internet financial system.
Circle is claiming this new asset as a highly secure and neutral version of wrapped BTC, built to address the trust issues that have surfaced with the existing tokens in the market.
What makes cirBTC different
cirBTC will be 1:1 backed by Bitcoin held in reserves, just as the same transparent model as USDC. This means institutions will have access to real-time on-chain verification and independent audits.
As Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire recently posted on X, he stated that the goal is to bring the same infrastructure that supports USDC to the largest digital asset, creating a neutral foundation for new on-chain applications.
According to Circle, there is a staggering amount of capital waiting for a safer bridge. Rachel Mayer, product lead at Arc and Circle, pointed out that roughly $1.7 trillion of Bitcoin is sitting on the sidelines of DeFi. She noted that this isn’t because holders aren’t interested in yield or liquidity, but rather because they don’t trust the wrapper.
By offering a product that institutions like OTC desks, market makers, and lending protocols can actually rely on, Circle hopes to unlock Bitcoin’s programmability for staking, borrowing, and trading without requiring users to sell their underlying BTC.
wBTC draws rising concerns
The wrapped Bitcoin game is getting more competitive. wBTC, the wrapped BTC by Bitgo, is leading, with a market cap hovering around $8 billion. But it has recently come under scrutiny due to ties with the new management.
Meanwhile, cbBTC, the wrapped bitcoin by Coinbase, has moved to a $5.9 billion market cap. Circle enters the battlefield with a distinct advantage, a neutral, non-exchange-tied position, and a massive existing institutional network.
The rollout will be sequential, hitting the Ethereum mainnet first before moving to Circle’s own EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain, Arc, with plans to support multichain and better interoperability over time. While the product is officially “coming soon” and pending regulatory approvals, a dedicated product page and waitlist are already live on the Circle website for institutions ready to leap.
