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After Coinbase, Kraken has launched its very own wrapped Bitcoin product.

Kraken has introduced its wrapped Bitcoin token, kBTC, backed 1:1 by Bitcoin, and available on Ethereum and OP Mainnet.

On October 17, 2024, Kraken, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, announced the launch of its own Wrapped Bitcoin token, named kBTC. This token represents a tokenized version of Bitcoin (BTC) and promises to further strengthen Bitcoin's position as the “epicenter of cryptocurrencies”, according to the company.

In a recent update, the leading crypto exchange Kraken has announced the launch of Wrapped Bitcoin, kBTC, sparking market optimism. This new ERC-20 token is expected to boost the BTC's utility across decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms.

Crypto exchange Kraken has joined the race for dominance in the realm of Wrapped Bitcoins, unveiling its own Ethereum-based token, kBTC. The landscape of Wrapped Bitcoins is becoming more crowded as U.S.

Kraken's launch follows the recent introduction of Coinbase's wrapped bitcoin asset, cbBTC, with both tokens competing against WBTC.

According to Kraken, kBTC reinforces Bitcoin's position as the “epicenter of crypto” and empowers developers to explore new ways to use BTC.

The token will be available on both Ethereum and OP Mainnet.

Threshold Network has proposed further decentralizing BitGo's Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) amid its recent challenges in the DeFi market. On Oct. 9, Matt Luongo, founder of the Bitcoin-focused venture studio Thesis, outlined the goal of expanding the number of signers involved in managing the WBTC asset using the Threshold Network.

Wrapped Bitcoin currently has a market capitalization of approximately $9.5 billion and a circulating supply of 154,782 tokens.

Sky Ecosystem will change the security fees on its WBTC vaults, but has given up on the accelerated divestment of the asset.

21.co, the parent company of 21Shares, has announced a strategic partnership with Crypto.com. The collaboration will enhance liquidity and custody solutions for 21.co's wrapped tokens, starting with its wrapped Bitcoin (BTC).

Cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com and crypto fund manager 21Shares have announced a strategic partnership aimed at bolstering the liquidity of 21Shares' Wrapped Bitcoin product (21BTC). Through the partnership, 21Shares will source liquidity from Crypto.com, which currently has around $2 billion in bitcoin under custody (according to CoinMarketCap).

The Wrapped Bitcoin's top performance comes despite BitGo's unwelcomed partnership with Justin Sun to expand WBTC's jurisdiction.

Concerns about WBTC's planned custody shakeup are overblown. For added safety, cbBTC is the best alternative.

WBTC bridges the gap between BTC and ETH. Yet, AAVE has reaped the most benefits, amassing 37K WBTC in supply.

It's been 48 days since Bitgo revealed its partnership with Bit Global on Aug. 9, 2024. Since that announcement, the supply of wrapped bitcoin (WBTC) held on Aave V3 has soared to a new peak. Meanwhile, cbBTC, the bitcoin derivative token from Coinbase, has hit a market cap of $247.8 million.

WBTC is still the most popular Bitcoin wrapper, with nearly $10 billion in TVL, according to DefiLlama.

The apparent change of heart follows extensive public discussions with BitGo CEO Mike Belshe.

TL;DR Sky is reconsidering its decision to remove Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) after a recommendation from BA Labs and clarifications from BitGo. BitGo commits to providing 60 days' notice for any changes in WBTC custody, reducing the perceived risk.

BA Labs, an adviser to Sky, formerly known as Makerdao, has decided to stop recommending any additional parameter changes regarding the offboarding of wrapped bitcoin (WBTC) collateral. The move follows statements from Bitgo's CEO Mike Belshe and a vote from Sky community members.

Sky is rethinking its recent decision to offboard WBTC, following BA Labs' assessment that the risk to WBTC exposure is now “more acceptable”.

Decentralized finance pioneer Sky, previously known as Maker, is revisiting its decision to offboard Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) as collateral in its lending protocol.

BA Labs, an advisor to DeFi lender Sky, says its concerns with Tron founder Justin Sun's involvement in the custody of the Wrapped Bitcoin token have been addressed and new recommendations will be put to a vote on Oct. 3.

BA Labs, adviser to DeFi lender Sky, says concerns about Justin Sun's role in Wrapped Bitcoin custody are resolved. A new vote is set for Oct. 3.

An influential adviser to DeFi lender Sky, formerly known as MakerDAO, now says their concerns have been adequately addressed regarding Tron founder Justin Sun's involvement in the custody of bitcoin backing the WBTC token.

21.co, the parent company of 21Shares, has integrated Chainlink's Proof of Reserve on Solana and Ethereum to increase transparency for its Wrapped Bitcoin 21BTC.

Top US-based crypto exchange Coinbase says its wrapped version of Bitcoin (BTC) is coming to the smart contract platform Solana (SOL). In a session during the Solana Breakpoint 2024 event, Coinbase executive Hasan Ahmed says the crypto exchange is introducing Coinbase Wrapped Bitcoin (cbBTC) to the Ethereum (ETH) competitor's blockchain.

TL;DR 21.co has integrated Chainlink Proof of Reserve on the Solana and Ethereum mainnets to enhance the transparency of its Wrapped Bitcoin (21BTC). 21BTC, launched in May 2024, is a native token fully backed 1:1 by Bitcoin reserves, which are held in cold storage and under institutional custody.

Analysis of refund policies and the regulatory context.

Coinbase surprised attendees at Breakpoint 2024 by announcing plans to roll out cbBTC wrapped Bitcoin on Solana, sparking immediate enthusiasm and positioning the asset for broader use across popular blockchain networks. At the Breakpoint 2024 event, Hassan Ahmed, Coinbases country director for Singapore, recently announced intentions to bring Coinbases new cbBTCa wrapped Bitcoin assetto the Solana network.

LlamaRisk, Aave's risk service provider, has proposed reducing the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of BitGo's Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) to zero on the DeFi lending platform.

Coinbase launched cbBTC on September 12, and within a week, the token has become the third-largest Wrapped Bitcoin in the market.

Wrapped Bitcoin products allow users to retain asset control while using Bitcoin as collateral for decentralized finance applications.

Sky may be the first of many to toe this path.

Sky, formerly MakerDAO, decided to remove the usage of Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) as collateral for borrowing through a governance vote concluded on Sept. 19. BA Labs, the former Risk Core Unit, was named stability advisor for the process.

Sky, a major DeFi lending protocol, has voted to remove wrapped Bitcoin as collateral due to concerns over its custodian's affiliation with Justin Sun

With WBTC being phased out, the protocol is now exploring alternative wrapped Bitcoin solutions.

Sky, formerly known as Maker, is divesting its wrapped Bitcoin following a community governance vote that was finalized on September 19.

The vote was passed with 88% in favor of offloading WBTC collateral from the Sky lending platform.

The matter has been closely followed in crypto markets, since the Sky platform has $200 million of loans collateralized by the token, and since WBTC is one of the biggest cryptocurrencies, with nearly $10 billion outstanding.

This week, Cryptoquant researchers highlighted a new rivalry heating up in the wrapped bitcoin market, with Coinbase's cbBTC stepping up to challenge Bitgo's long-established reign.

Crypto custodian BitGo is set to enter the stablecoin market with plans to launch a dollar-backed USDS stablecoin by 2025, according to a Sept. 18 statement.

Coinbase recently introduced cbBTC, a wrapped version of Bitcoin designed to integrate with decentralized finance (DeFi) applications on Ethereum and Base networks. This new product aims to expand Bitcoin's utility beyond simple holding or trading, allowing users to participate in various DeFi activities without converting their Bitcoin to other cryptocurrencies.

TL;DR Sky proposes to withdraw WBTC from its loans and collateral due to risks associated with BitGo's custody of the asset. The recent redistribution of BitGo's multi-sig keys to third parties has raised concerns about the security of the underlying BTC.

Coinbase's cbBTC could significantly boost DeFi activities but raises concerns about centralization and security risks in decentralized finance. The post Coinbase Wrapped Bitcoin hits $100M market cap appeared first on Crypto Briefing.