Wrapped Bitcoin price, WBTC chart, market cap, and info | CoinGecko

Wrapped Bitcoin Price & Market Data

Wrapped Bitcoin price today is $33,666.82 with a 24-hour trading volume of $270,448,650. WBTC price is up 2.5% in the last 24 hours. It has a circulating supply of 200 Thousand WBTC coins and a max supply of 197 Thousand. If you are looking to buy or sell Wrapped Bitcoin, FTX is currently the most active exchange.

What is Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC)?

Wrapped Bitcoin is an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain that represents Bitcoin. Each WBTC is backed 1:1 with Bitcoin. Wrapped Bitcoin allows for Bitcoin transfers to be conducted quicker on the Ethereum blockchain and opens up the possibility for BTC to be used in the Ethereum ecosystem. 

Bitcoin is held in custody by the centralized custodian, BitGo. Bitcoin can be converted to Wrapped Bitcoin and vice versa easily.

How was Wrapped Bitcoin founded?

WBTC was launched in January 2019. BitGo, Kyber Network and Ren collaborated to find a way for users to bring more liquidity into the Ethereum ecosystem and that’s how Wrapped Bitcoin was created. 

What problem does WBTC solve?

Most Decentralized Finance (DeFi) activities take place on the Ethereum blockchain and Bitcoin holders have no access to a wide selection of DeFi applications which includes features like lending, borrowing, trading and more. 

WBTC helps transfer the value of Bitcoin into the Ethereum blockchain so that users could start generating higher returns with their Bitcoin.

Who are the key players in the WBTC ecosystem? 

There are a few key players in the WBTC ecosystem. They are: 

• Custodian - Custodians are institutions that store crypto assets. In the case of WBTC, BitGo is responsible for custodying Bitcoin

• Merchant - Merchants play a key role in the distribution of WTBC by minting or burning WBTC

• Users - Users are holders of WBTC. Users can use WBTC to transfer and transact like any other ERC20 token in the Ethereum ecosystem

• WBTC DAO Member - WBTC DAO is the governing body that is responsible for contract changes and the addition/removal of custodian and merchant. This governance body helps decentralize the network via multisig contracts which requires all members to reach consensus before initiating a change. 

How to convert BTC to WBTC?

1. To convert BTC to WBTC, a user may visit any of the platforms that is labeled “Merchant” in the WBTC partners page.

2. The user is required to verify his identity through a Know Your Customer (KYC) procedure. 

3. After that, the user is required to transfer his BTC to the merchant’s BTC wallet.

4. Once the merchant receives the BTC, the merchant will then notify the custodian, BitGo, the amount of WBTC to be minted.

5. After obtaining 6 confirmations of the BTC transaction, the custodian will then produce an equivalent amount of WBTC.

6. Finally, the WBTC will be sent to the user’s Ethereum wallet.

How to convert WBTC to BTC?

1. User initiates request to redeem BTC with WTBC.

2. The merchant will create a burn transaction for the amount of WBTC to be redeemed.

3. After 25 Ethereum block confirmations, the custodian will release an equivalent amount of BTC to the merchant’s Bitcoin address.

4. Custodian makes an Ethereum transaction marking the burn request as completed.

5. The user undergoes KYC procedure to redeem BTC.

6. After that is done, the merchant will send BTC to the user’s BTC wallet address.

How to keep track of WBTC?

The conversion between WBTC and BTC is completed in a transparent manner. Users may refer to WBTC’s orderbook dashboard to see a record of all minting and burning of WBTC on the Ethereum network. 

Also, users can access WBTC’s proof of assets dashboard to view the transaction amount and the total amount of BTC held under custody. This system makes it easy for audits on a regular basis and it is a good method to maintain the trust of its users.

What is the risk of using WBTC?

Some of the biggest concerns of using WBTC is centralization and trust. All of the BTC backing WBTC are stored at BitGo, a centralized entity. BitGo is viewed as a central point of failure because it’s the only custodian overseeing WBTC at the moment. Also, users have to completely trust BitGo to safely store their BTC and honor the users’ redemption requests. 

It is important to note that BitGo is one of the most reputable centralized custodian in the world and they have one of the most advanced coin security protocols in place. Not to forget, they are covered by digital asset insurance worth up to $100 million if anything bad were to occur.

What are other ways to acquire WBTC?

If users choose not to mint for WBTC, they can purchase WBTC in the Ethereum blockchain like any ERC-20 token through decentralized exchanges such as Uniswap or SushiSwap.