Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase joined the Wrapped Bitcoin race just a week ago, on September 12, but has amassed nearly 2,000 Token in circulating supply so far, potentially challenging the dominance of its long-standing rivals.
According to data from CryptoQuant, cbBTC has grown in seven days to become the 3rd largest Wrapped Bitcoin (BTC ) Token , surpassing Token that have been in circulation since 2020 such as Huobi BTC and renBTC (RENBTC).
To put that into context, BitGo's wBTC — the first wrapped Bitcoin Token launched in 2019 — took more than a year to reach similar numbers. However, it continues to dominate the wrapped BTC market, with nearly 153,000 Token in circulation at the time of writing, far ahead of its closest competitor, tBTC, which has around 3,400 Token .
Wrapped BTC Token are a tokenized version of Bitcoin that allows holders to trade, lend, and liquidate it in DeFi (DeFi) applications. Coinbase’s large BTC holdings on the platform could help it gain a larger share of the wrapped Token market. According to CryptoQuant’s analysis:
“The growth potential of cbBTC is huge as Coinbase exchange users hold over 1 million Bitcoin on the platform (excluding Bitcoin in trusts and ETFs).
The majority of cbBTC's supply (64%) is based on Ethereum and is used on decentralized exchanges like Uniswap — often as collateral in pools against various trading pairs. Another 26% is held directly on the Coinbase exchange and its network, Base.
For Coinbase, the benefits of cbBTC include increased fee revenue on its layer-1 blockchain, Base. The exchange’s fee revenue increased 148% year-over-year to $53 million in the second quarter of 2024.
Source: CryptoQuant
The wrapped Token race has prompted BitGo to expand wBTC’s presence across networks and geographies in recent weeks. Earlier this month, the company adopted LayerZero’s Omnichain Fungible Token Standard to allow the asset to be used across multiple blockchain networks, with initial deployments on Avalanche and BNB Chain.
Additionally, BitGo announced a joint venture with BitGlobal, a Hong Kong-based regulated custody platform, expanding its regional presence in Asian markets.
