Coinbase, the leading cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, has officially launched its version of wrapped Bitcoin , known as cbBTC, on the Solana blockchain. This strategic move aims to facilitate broader adoption of Bitcoin within the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector. Announced on November 7, the company expressed enthusiasm about providing users with easy access to Bitcoin in the Solana network.
The new token, cbBTC, operates as a Solana Program Library (SPL) token, representing assets in both fungible and non-fungible forms. Each cbBTC is pegged to Bitcoin on a 1:1 basis, enabling users to engage with Bitcoin within Solana ’s burgeoning DeFi ecosystem. Coinbase has indicated that cbBTC will be integrated into several decentralized exchanges and protocols on Solana , such as Jupiter, Raydium, Drift, and others.
This introduction marks Coinbase’s first issuance of a token on the Solana network. The initiative follows earlier discussions led by the firm’s country director for Singapore at an event in September. So far, Coinbase has deployed approximately 135 cbBTC, valued at around $10 million, to the Solana blockchain, as per data from Solscan.
The launch of cbBTC also addresses a notable void in the Solana ecosystem, which was previously occupied by soBTC. The latter suffered from major issues during the collapse of the FTX exchange, resulting in its depegging and failure. cbBTC joins an expanding roster of wrapped Bitcoin variants on Solana , including tBTC from Threshold and zBTC from Zeus Network.
Coinbase’s cbBTC has quickly gained traction, achieving a market capitalization exceeding $1 billion since its introduction in mid-September. It stands as a competitor to BitGo’s Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), which currently holds a market cap of approximately $11 billion and retains a dominant position across multiple blockchain networks. The overall DeFi landscape on Solana has rebounded significantly in 2024, with total value locked soaring by 250% to $8.25 billion, contrasting with a more gradual recovery in Ethereum ’s DeFi space.
