Wrapped Bitcoin
Wrapped Bitcoin is the process of locking your Bitcoin into a multi-sig account with a smart contract attached to it that issues a representative token known as wrapped Bitcoin.
What you’re doing is handing over your Bitcoin with finality to a 3rd party and getting a token that represents the amount of Bitcoin you pegged on to another chain. You can then use that wrapped Bitcoin or wBTC on this external chain to access services built on this chain.
The key motivation for using WBTC is its integration into the world of wallets, dapps, and smart contracts.
WBTC was created to allow Bitcoin holders to participate in decentralised finance (“DeFi”) apps.
How Do WBTC Tokens Work?
If you prefer using Bitcoin as your store of value and do not want to trade into other tokens, but you’re keen on using dapps or exchanges on other chains, then wrapped Bitcoin can give you the option of exploring other blockchains.
Wrapped Bitcoin carries its own risk, as the smart contract you’re engaging with is a risk factor, the 3rd party you’re trusting to mint with is another risk and then finally, you are now trusting a far less secure chain when compared to that of the Bitcoin blockchain.
A large chunk of the DeFi ecosystem (and DApps) are based on smart contract networks rather than the Bitcoin blockchain. The wrapped Bitcoin allows users to bridge the gap and try these experimental platforms to earn an additional yield on their Bitcoin.
Wrapped Bitcoin is also an attractive option for those looking to purchase Bitcoin from exchanges that don’t require KYC, as you could trade with stable coins and secure wBTC. Then unwrap that wBTC and send it to a standard Bitcoin wallet.
What Are the Benefits of Wrapped Tokens?
If you prefer using Bitcoin as your store of value and do not want to trade into other tokens, but you’re keen on using dapps or exchanges on other chains, then wrapped Bitcoin can give you the option of exploring other blockchains.
Wrapped Bitcoin carries its own risk, as the smart contract you’re engaging with is a risk factor, the 3rd party you’re trusting to mint with is another risk and then finally, you are now trusting a far less secure chain when compared to that of the Bitcoin blockchain.
A large chunk of the DeFi ecosystem (and DApps) are based on smart contract networks rather than the Bitcoin blockchain. The wrapped Bitcoin allows users to bridge the gap and try these experimental platforms to earn an additional yield on their Bitcoin.
Wrapped Bitcoin is also an attractive option for those looking to purchase Bitcoin from exchanges that don’t require KYC, as you could trade with stable coins and secure wBTC. Then unwrap that wBTC and send it to a standard Bitcoin wallet.
Where can I find wrapped Bitcoin?
There are several versions of wrapped Bitcoin with (WBTC) often referred to as the Ethereum ERC-20 token version that Bitcoin (BTC) on the Ethereum blockchain.
The BTC that backs WBTC is transparently 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 now consists of over 30 members. It was originally started by BitGo, Ren, and Kyber. Through a WBTC partner, 1 Bitcoin can be converted to 1 Wrapped Bitcoin, and vice-versa.
What is the contract address for wBTC?
0x2260fac5e5542a773aa44fbcfedf7c193bc2c599
BTC on Tron (BTCTRON) is a type of wrapped Bitcoin token on the TRON blockchain. You can use BTCTRON to send Bitcoin on the TRON blockchain. This will allow you to engage in TRON dapps using BTC, using TRON’s own wrapped version known as BTCTRON.
What is the contract address for BTCTRON?
The contract address for BTCTRON is TN3W4H6rK2ce4vX9YnFQHwKENnHjoxb3m9.
TRON also supports wBTC
Since Ethereum was the first to pioneer the wBTC option, this token has also been re-pegged on other chains like TRON. This can be a little confusing but what this means is someone pegged Bitcoin on Ethereum to create wBTC, then used that wBTC for pegging in on the TRON chain.
The HIVE blockchain is a delegated proof of stake chain that was forked from the STEEM blockchain. Hive has its second layer where tokens can be issued using the HIVE asset as the base asset and the chain to secure transactions.
Hive also has its own pegged version of Bitcoin, run by a third-party service and exchange called HIVE Engine. The exchange takes ownership of your Bitcoin and will then issue you a pegged token known as SWAP.BTC.
HIVE engine also supports ERC-20 Token and BEP-20 token pegging, so in theory, both wBTC and BTCB can be pegged into their system.
BTCB is a BEP2 & BEP-20 token that is backed by Bitcoin (BTC) kept in reserve addresses owned by Binance and their custodial parties, which are published for public audit. BTCB is operated on a centralized and trust-based model. The 1:1 peg means that the amount of wrapped BTCB is equal to the amount of BTC locked in a public address.
The centralized and trust-based model implies that the issuer of the wrapped BTCB tokens is Binance. Our job is to ensure the impenetrable security of your funds and transparency.
BTCB can be used on Binance and several exchanges as well as being used on the Binance Smart Chain, a fork of Ethereum.
What is the contract address for BTCB?
0x7130d2a12b9bcbfae4f2634d864a1ee1ce3ead9c
Polygon (formally known as MATIC) is a second layer chain that is built as an extension to Ethereum and allows users to peg assets into their chain and ecosystem of dapps.
It offers cheaper transaction fees to Ethereum and has become a popular alternative to ETH along with Binance Smart Chain. Polygon does not have it’s own Bitcoin pegged asset but rather leverages pegged Bitcoin from other chains and protocols, namely:
- wBTC – Ethereum
- pBTC- ETH, EOS & BSC
- renBTC – Ren Protocal – ETH
- amBTC – Aave Protocal – ETH
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