Circle has launched cirBTC on Ethereum, introducing a wrapped bitcoin product built for institutional use in decentralized finance. The token is backed 1:1 by native BTC, allowing institutions to deploy bitcoin collateral across lending, trading, settlement, and treasury operations without selling their underlying holdings.
Ethereum is the first network for bitcoin-backed DeFi access
Bitcoin is widely used as collateral, but native BTC cannot directly interact with Ethereum smart contracts. Circle positioned cirBTC as the bridge for that gap. By turning bitcoin into a token that can move across Ethereum-based applications, the company is giving institutions a way to use BTC-backed collateral inside supported DeFi markets while the underlying bitcoin remains in custody. Ethereum was selected as the starting network because a large share of institutional onchain activity already sits there, including lending protocols, decentralized exchanges, tokenized assets, and stablecoin markets.
Segregated custody and onchain reserve visibility
According to Circle, every cirBTC token is backed by an equivalent amount of bitcoin. The company said the underlying BTC is held by a regulated Circle entity and kept separate from corporate assets. That custody structure is central for firms that need a clear boundary between reserve collateral and company balance sheet assets.
Circle also said cirBTC uses Chainlink Proof of Reserve for reserve transparency. The setup provides visibility across multiple addresses, allowing market participants to review holdings directly on the Bitcoin blockchain. For market makers, lending venues, OTC desks, and asset managers, visible custody and redemption mechanics are part of the core operating requirements.
Mint and redemption through Circle Mint, with Arc planned next
Institutions can mint and redeem cirBTC through Circle Mint, according to the company. That places bitcoin collateral inside Circle’s existing infrastructure alongside USDC-related workflows. Circle also said the product is being built for a broader multichain path. Ethereum is the launch point, but the company plans to extend cirBTC into Arc, its infrastructure focused on stablecoin finance, to support wider institutional multichain use cases.
Based on the structure outlined by Circle, cirBTC combines bitcoin collateral, reserve transparency, segregated custody, and tokenized settlement in one operating framework. The product is now live on Ethereum, with the next expansion aimed at broader institutional finance across multiple chains.