Wrapped Bitcoin WBTC

Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) price has declined today.

The price of Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) is $26,721.38 today with a 24-hour trading volume of $55,447,012. This represents a -1.90% price decline in the last 24 hours and a -4.10% price decline in the past 7 days. With a circulating supply of 160 Thousand WBTC, Wrapped Bitcoin is valued at a market cap of $4,179,346,391.

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.

Where can you buy Wrapped Bitcoin?

WBTC tokens can be traded on centralized crypto exchanges and decentralized exchanges. The most popular exchange to buy and trade Wrapped Bitcoin is DigiFinex, where the most active trading pair WBTC/BTC has a trading volume of $5,303,948.83 in the last 24 hours. Other popular options include Uniswap V3 (Ethereum) and BingX.

What is the daily trading volume of Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC)?

The trading volume of Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) is $55,409,644.56 in the last 24 hours, representing a 20.90% increase from one day ago and signalling a recent rise in market activity.

What is the all-time high for Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC)?

The highest price paid for Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) is $70,643.40, which was recorded on Nov 10, 2021 (over 1 year). Comparatively, the current price is -62.20% lower than the all-time high price.

What is the all-time low for Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC)?

The lowest price paid for Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) is $3,139.17, which was recorded on Apr 02, 2019 (about 4 years). Comparatively, the current price is 750.50% higher than the all-time low price.

What is the market cap of Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC)?

Market capitalization of Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) is $4,179,346,391 and is ranked #19 on CoinGecko today. Market cap is measured by multiplying token price with the circulating supply of WBTC tokens (160 Thousand tokens are tradable on the market today).

What is the fully diluted valuation of Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC)?

The fully diluted valuation (FDV) of Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) is $4,179,346,391. This is a statistical representation of the maximum market cap, assuming the maximum number of 160 Thousand WBTC tokens are in circulation today. Depending on how the emission schedule of WBTC tokens are designed, it might take multiple years before FDV is realized.

How does the price performance of Wrapped Bitcoin compare against its peers?

With a price decline of -4.10% in the last 7 days, Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) is underperforming the global cryptocurrency market which is down -2.20%, while underperforming when compared to similar Ethereum Ecosystem cryptocurrencies which are up 12.70%.

What is the market sentiment of Wrapped Bitcoin today?

The community is bullish as more than 100% of users are feeling good about Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) today.

How to add Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) to MetaMask?

Adding Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) to MetaMask allows you to view your token holdings, trade on decentralized exchanges, and more. To add them, you’ll need to import WBTC as a token. You can copy WBTC’s contract address (0x2260fac5e5542a773aa44fbcfedf7c193bc2c599) and import it manually, or if you've installed MetaMask's chrome extension, add WBTC to MetaMask with one click on CoinGecko.

Add WBTC to MetaMask.