Circle has reported that its wrapped Bitcoin product, cirBTC, has surpassed 5,000 issued tokens. This growth marks a significant increase from approximately 40 tokens recorded in mid-August 2026. The token, which launched on June 8, 2026, is designed to allow Bitcoin to be used in DeFi applications like lending and borrowing.
Each cirBTC token is backed 1:1 by native Bitcoin held by the Circle National Trust, a federally chartered trust bank. To ensure transparency, the project utilizes Chainlink Proof of Reserve for real-time verification. As of September 24, 2026, the circulating supply was approximately 4,300.68 tokens, backed by roughly 4,448.19 BTC, providing an excess reserve cushion.
The product is available on the Ethereum mainnet and Circle’s Layer 1 blockchain, Arc. Users can mint and redeem cirBTC through the Circle Mint platform using the same APIs as USDC. This integration aims to lower the barrier for institutions already familiar with Circle’s infrastructure to adopt the new token.
Circle enters a competitive market currently dominated by wBTC and cbBTC. The company is positioning cirBTC as an institutional-grade solution by emphasizing its regulated custody and federal charter. The primary use case promoted by Circle is the ability for users to deposit cirBTC as collateral to borrow USDC without selling their Bitcoin holdings.
