Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) is an ERC-20 token designed on the Ethereum blockchain enjoying a 1:1 peg to Bitcoin (BTC). It merges the power and value of Bitcoin with the flexibility of ERC20 tokens on Ethereum in a transparent, decentralized, and completely verifiable format.
WBTC puts the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market cap on the Ethereum network, giving developers and investors the power to enforce smart contracts on the crypto asset. This vastly increases the versatility of Bitcoin, allowing developers to write smart contracts that can be integrated with transferring BTC.
The ERC-20 wrapped version of Bitcoin can allow the original cryptocurrency to enter the exciting world of DeFi and dApps. The original version of Bitcoin is limited in functionality and cannot do more than being used for payment transfers.
On the other hand, Wrapped Bitcoin can be traded effortlessly on DEXs and enjoy faster transaction times than the original Bitcoin. It brings together the very best of two of the largest cryptocurrencies in the world - the value of Bitcoin and the versatility of Ethereum.
Wrapped Bitcoin is part of the Wrapped Tokens project, a joint project that was officially launched by BitGo, Kyber Network, and Ren. The institutions that form a part of the WBTC decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) are responsible for holding the keys to the multi-sig contract which controls this token.
