The largest crypto exchange in the United States is coming after a new opportunity: bringing Bitcoin to decentralized finance.
What’s happening:
- Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) has launched a new ERC-20 token known as Coinbase Wrapped Bitcoin onto the Base and Ethereum blockchains
How it works:
- Coinbase’s new token known as cbBTC is a wrapped version of Bitcoin which is backed on a 1:1 basis by Bitcoin held directly in custody by Coinbase
- Bitcoin holders can now choose to use cbBTC to stake their Bitcoin holdings onto popular decentralized finance applications in order to generate a yield or as collateral for lending
Going deeper:
- Coinbase has initially launched cbBTC for users in the United States, Singapore, Australia, Brazil and the United Kingdom
- Some of the largest decentralized finance protocols in crypto have already integrated cbBTC including Curve, Uniswap and Compound
- Coinbase has been making a push to bring more innovation into Bitcoin, previously launching an integration with the Lightning Network to enable rapid low cost payments globally
The intrigue:
- The concept of generating a yield through Bitcoin ownership has been on the rise, with DeFi Technologies (CBOE: DEFI) previously launching the world’s first yield generating Exchange Traded Product for Bitcoin on the Nordic Growth Market
