Crypto exchange Kraken has launched its own cross-network-compatible ERC-20 representation of Bitcoin.
In an Oct. 17 blog post, Kraken unveiled its wrapped bitcoin variant called kBTC — each of which will be fully backed 1:1 by an equivalent amount of actual Bitcoin held in the exchange’s custody.
Kraken’s custody unit, Kraken Financial, is a Wyoming-chartered Special Purpose Depository Institution. The kBTC smart contract has also been audited by Trail of Bits, an external security firm.
“kBTC builds upon Bitcoin’s fundamental strengths – security, scarcity and its role as a store of value – and extends its utility further, into DeFi and beyond,” said Kraken in a statement.
The new token will be cross-chain compatible, meaning it can be easily integrated into Ethereum, OP Mainnet and potentially, even certain non-EVM [Ethereum Virtual Machine] compatible ecosystems, according to Kraken.
Kraken is not the first crypto exchange to launch its own version of wrapped bitcoin. Last month, Coinbase rolled out cBTC — a tokenized version of bitcoin on Ethereum and its layer 2 network base. 21Shares also rolled out a wrapped bitcoin product called 21BTC on Ethereum.
BitGo was one of the original creators of the WBTC (Wrapped Bitcoin) token that launched in January 2019. WBTC became the largest Bitcoin-based ERC-20 token deployed in DeFi, with native integrations on several chains including Ethereum, Tron, Osmosis, and Base.
The company was the subject of scrutiny after BitGo shifted custody to a “multi-jurisdictional and multi-institutional” joint venture with BiT Globall, associated with Tron founder Justin Sun.
Earlier this month, BitGo completed the move to a multi-jurisdictional custody setup. WBTC continues to be the largest version of tokenized bitcoin, with a market cap of $10 billion.
