Wrapped BTC

What is Wrapped BTC?

WBTC is a community-focused initiative to bring bitcoin to Ethereum as a 1:1 backed token. The custody of the bitcoin reserves is taken care of by BitGo.

Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) is an Ethereum token that is intended to represent Bitcoin (BTC) on the Ethereum blockchain. It is not Bitcoin, but rather a separate ERC-20 token that’s designed to track Bitcoin’s value. WBTC was created to allow Bitcoin holders to participate in decentralized finance (“DeFi”) apps that are popular on Ethereum. Through a WBTC partner, 1 Bitcoin can be exchanged for 1 Wrapped Bitcoin, and vice-versa. The BTC that backs WBTC is verifiable through a “proof of reserve” system that verifies the 1:1 backing between minted WBTC tokens and Bitcoin stored by custodians. WBTC is maintained by a group called the WBTC DAO that consists of over 30 members. It was originally started by BitGo, Ren, and Kyber.