Kraken launches its personal packaged bitcoin product.
The token can be obtainable on each Ethereum and OP Mainnet.
The launch can be supported by Paraswap and Morpho.
Crypto alternate Kraken has launched its personal wrapped bitcoin (BTC) token, kBTC, the corporate informed CoinDesk in an unique interview.
The token can be obtainable on each Ethereum and OP Mainnet and can be backed 1:1 with bitcoin, an organization spokesperson stated.
The bitcoin can be held in Kraken Monetary, the alternate’s US certified custody answer, in a segregated pockets. The tackle of this pockets can be made public in order that clients can see that the bitcoin is absolutely in reserve.
Wrapped tokens permit unbacked crypto belongings resembling bitcoin and ether (ETH) to be traded, lent and borrowed on decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms. The most important such token, WBTC, permits traders to make use of bitcoin on different blockchains, and performs a key function in DeFi collateral lending, with a market capitalization of round $10 billion.
Kraken is not the one main participant to not too long ago launch a wrapped bitcoin token. A slew of latest points have arisen after BitGo, the only real operator of WBTC, introduced a partnership with Tron founder Justin Solar, sparking widespread concern. Rival alternate Coinbase (COIN) final month launched its personal wrapped bitcoin product, the Coinbase Wrapped BTC (cbBTC) on the Ethereum and Base networks.
At launch, kBTC can be supported by a number of blue-chip DeFi apps, and its companions embrace: Kraken, Kraken Pockets, Ethereum, Optimism, Paraswap, Yearn, Gauntlet, deBridge, Definitive, CowSwap, Beefy, Velodrome, Curve, and Morpho .
There can be no supported spot markets for kBTC at launch, Kraken stated, but when clients wish to use their bitcoin, they’ll alternate it for the underlying asset and commerce it as they usually would.
The minimal deposit dimension for kBTC on each Ethereum and Optimism can be 0.00026 BTC, which is roughly $15 assuming a bitcoin worth of $60,000.
The token launch is a part of Kraken’s mission to speed up DeFi adoption, and kBTC is anticipated to be extensively used throughout the ecosystem.
“We consider in an onchain future and DeFi represents an necessary a part of that chance,” stated Mark Greenberg, Kraken’s world head of asset progress and administration, in an emailed commentary. “kBTC depends on Kraken’s lengthy historical past of seamless UX and high-quality safety, bringing DeFi to new customers and accelerating the adoption of decentralized functions,” he added.
Learn extra: Crypto Change Kraken has employed Natasha Powell as its head of compliance within the UK