WBTC expands to Hedera as Bitcoin liquidity flows into new DeFi rails

23 hours ago

Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), the largest tokenized mentation of Bitcoin, has expanded to the Hedera web — a determination that could unfastened the doorway to much decentralized concern (DeFi) options for BTC holders.

The integration, announced Thursday, brings further liquidity to Hedera, which already supports astute contracts and autochthonal tokenization and markets itself arsenic a low-fee web with nary frontrunning oregon miner-extractable value (MEV).

Frontrunning and MEV are tactics wherever validators reorder transactions to nett astatine users’ disbursal — a occupation Hedera’s statement mechanics is designed to avoid.

The motorboat was supported by BitGo, a Hedera Council subordinate and the superior custodian down WBTC, alongside BiT Global and LayerZero, an interoperability provider.

WBTC gained popularity arsenic 1 of the archetypal large-scale solutions enabling Bitcoin (BTC) holders to enactment successful DeFi. Wrapping allows BTC to beryllium converted into a token connected different blockchain portion remaining afloat backed by Bitcoin held successful custody.

In theory, this allows users to deploy their BTC successful astute declaration ecosystems for lending, trading and different protocols without forfeiting their underlying Bitcoin exposure.

Hedera has experienced an uptick successful DeFi activity, marked by a important summation successful full worth locked implicit the past 12 months. Its autochthonal token, HBAR, is the 19th-largest cryptocurrency by marketplace capitalization, with an estimated marketplace worth of astir $7 billion.

The Bitcoin DeFi assemblage charts a maturation path

Hedera’s determination is portion of a broader inclination linking Bitcoin much intimately to DeFi, arsenic holders question ways to usage their assets successful lending, trading and yield-generating protocols.

As Cointelegraph reported, respective Bitcoin-focused companies reason that Bitcoin is excessively important an plus to stay idle successful wallets and volition progressively service arsenic the instauration of its ain fiscal ecosystem.

“Bitcoin DeFi is astir gathering a trustless, permissionless fiscal strategy astir Bitcoin, turning it into an progressive fiscal instrument, not conscionable a vault,” Jacob Phillips, co-founder of liquid staking protocol Lombard Finance, said astatine the Bitcoin 2025 league successful Las Vegas.

Binance has besides highlighted the emergence of the Bitcoin DeFi sector, referring to it arsenic BTCFi, saying it whitethorn assistance thrust caller adoption of the integer asset.

The sectors’ maturation “may reenforce affirmative sentiment for Bitcoin successful the mean and agelong term, Binance Research said successful a report.

View source