Coinbase expands cbBTC to Solana, increasing DeFi options for Bitcoin holders

Coinbase has announced the expansion of its wrapped Bitcoin product, cbBTC, on the Solana blockchain. Initially launched in September, cbBTC was initially available only on Ethereum and Coinbase’s native Layer 2 Base blockchain.

Now in Solana, it will exist as a Solana Program Library (SPL) token, which can represent fungible and non-fungible assets.

Coinbase’s cbBTC debuts in Solana

Once launched, cbBTC will be integrated into a number of prominent Solana DeFi platforms, including Jupiter Exchange, Meteora, Kamino Finance, Jito, Phoenix, Drift Protocol, Raydium, Orca, Save Finance (formerly Solend), Manifest and Loopscale Labs.

This move marks Coinbase’s effort to expand the reach of cbBTC beyond the Ethereum ecosystem. Coinbase had previously stated,

“Coinbase is pioneering a new era for DeFi with cbBTC – a trusted and reputable wrapped version of Bitcoin. cbBTC is backed 1:1 by BTC in custody by Coinbase, which has a 10+ year track record of safe custody billions in Bitcoin for institutions and customers worldwide. Greater transparency with proof of reserves has been part of our roadmap since cbBTC’s conception and will continue.”

Additionally, in a separate announcement, Coinbase also revealed that cbBTC’s market capitalization reached a milestone of $1 billion in just nine weeks after its launch.

Proliferation of wrapped Bitcoin tokens

The wrapped Bitcoin token market is expanding as more providers enter the scene. The main purpose of these tokens is to allow BTC holders to interact with other DeFi networks and applications outside of Bitcoin without liquidating their holdings. With 1:1 support with Bitcoin, wrapped BTC tokens are largely found on Ethereum.

The first, WBTC, was launched in 2019 by BitGo and remains the largest, with a supply of approximately 150,000 and a market cap of $11.18 billion. Subsequent entries in 2020 included HTX’s HBTC, Threshold Network’s tBTC, and Ren Protocol’s renBTC.

In addition to Coinbase, Kraken has also launched its own wrapped Bitcoin token called kBTC this year. The token was made available on both Ethereum and OP Mainnet.

SPECIAL OFFER (Sponsored) Binance Free $600 (Exclusive to CryptoPotato): Use this link to register a new account and receive an exclusive welcome offer of $600 to Binance (full details).

2024 LIMITED OFFER on BYDFi Exchange – Up to $2888 Welcome Reward, Use this link to register and open a 100 USDT-M position for free!