Circle Launches cirBTC, Bitcoin-Backed Token on Ethereum

Circle announced cirBTC, a wrapped Bitcoin token that maintains a 1:1 peg to native Bitcoin, following the same reserve model Circle uses for USDC and EURC. The token aims to bring ₱102.89 trillion ($1.7 trillion) worth of Bitcoin currently sitting outside the DeFi ecosystem into Ethereum-based applications.

USBC backs every token with cash and short-term U.S. Treasuries at a 1:1 ratio, while EURC pegs 1:1 to the euro. Circle publishes monthly reserve attestations for USDC through a Big Four accounting firm.

Circle holds money-transmitter licenses in most U.S. states, a New York BitLicense, a Major Payment Institution license in Singapore, and an EU e-money license under MiCA regulation. The company launched USDC in September 2018 as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum through the Centre Consortium, a joint venture with Coinbase. USDC has expanded beyond Ethereum to Solana, Arbitrum, Optimism, Avalanche, Base, and Stellar blockchains.

The cirBTC launch addresses trust gaps in existing wrapped Bitcoin products that rely on opaque third-party custodians. Circle's version enables real-time on-chain verification of Bitcoin reserves, bringing the same transparency standards the company applies to its stablecoin products.

Circle's stablecoin business faced a crisis in March 2023 when ₱199.73 billion ($3.3 billion) of USDC reserves held at Silicon Valley Bank caused a brief de-peg below ₱61 ($1). USDC market cap shrunk by ₱605.24 billion ($10 billion) during that period while Tether grew by ₱544.72 billion ($9 billion) as capital shifted between the two largest stablecoins. Circle also operates USYC, a tokenized money market fund for institutional investors, with no specific launch date announced for cirBTC as of April 2026.