Glossary
WBTC
Wrapped Bitcoin — an Ethereum ERC-20 backed 1:1 by BTC held by BitGo under a centralized custody arrangement, the dominant BTC representation in DeFi.
WBTC, launched in 2019, brings Bitcoin into Ethereum DeFi. Approved merchants deposit BTC with BitGo (the custodian), and matching WBTC is minted on Ethereum; burning WBTC releases the BTC. The peg is custodial — fully dependent on BitGo's honesty and solvency.
Despite alternatives (renBTC, sBTC, tBTC, FBTC), WBTC has remained the dominant BTC representation in DeFi for years. Its centralized custody is its biggest source of controversy and the reason trust-minimized alternatives keep launching.