Circle Launches Wrapped Bitcoin Token cirBTC for Institutional Tokenization Market

Native Bitcoin cannot directly interact with Ethereum smart contracts, prompting the market to use wrapped tokens to bring BTC into lending, trading and collateral applications. USDC issuer Circle has launched cirBTC for institutions, emphasizing neutral issuance, segregated reserves and onchain verification as it challenges BitGo’s WBTC and Coinbase’s cbBTC.

Circle formally launched cirBTC on Ethereum on June 8, 2026, with each token backed by a reserve of 1 BTC and available for minting and redemption through Circle Mint. Arc will be the next blockchain on which it is deployed. As of July 17, cirBTC had a circulating supply of 40.020655 tokens and reserves of 41.26040408 BTC, worth about $2.64 million.