Persistence One is excited to announce that we’re bringing BTC (in the form of wBTC) to our ecosystem.
That’s right; we’re bringing the popular wrapped version of the number one-ranked cryptocurrency to the Persistence One blockchain, starting with a liquidity pool paired with XPRT on Dexter!
As the bedrock of our entire industry, Bitcoin has proven to be a pillar of stability inside everybody’s portfolios over multiple years. With Bitcoin continuing its market domination, bringing liquidity from the digital cryptocurrency heavyweight with over $1 trillion in market cap value is essential to build liquidity in the DeFi ecosystem. Without it, we’re just leaving billions of dollars worth of liquidity on the table that could be used to fuel growth and find yield.
What is wBTC? An Overview
wBTC, the wrapped ERC-20 version of Bitcoin, offers Bitcoin holders the flexibility to utilize the cryptocurrency giant in the dynamic DeFi industry. With wBTC, holders can easily use their Bitcoin liquidity to participate in the DeFi industry through trading, supplying liquidity, borrowing/lending, and any other DeFi product across multiple blockchains that has wBTC integration.
This ease of use empowers Bitcoin holders to explore and benefit from the DeFi industry, helping them search for yield and grow their holdings.
The innovation of wBTC was pioneered in 2018 through a collaboration with BitGo, Kyber Network, and REN, and has since flourished into a powerful asset with a staggering $9.5 billion market cap value. The ERC-20 wBTC is backed on a 1:1 basis with Bitcoin, ensuring complete transparency and 100% verifiability. This provides depositors with a high level of security, instilling trust in the system.
In Cosmos, wBTC is now issued natively on Osmosis through a BitGo integration, one of the creators of the ERC-20 token. As a result, wBTC can now flow freely through the Cosmos ecosystem via Inter-Blockchain Communication Protocol (IBC), including the Persistence Core-1 chain.
The Inflow of wBTC Into the DeFi Industry
wBTC was designed to bring Bitcoin liquidity into the DeFi ecosystem, and the liquidity has been constantly flowing into the industry since its inception. According to DeFi Llama, a staggering $10 billion is now locked in the wBTC smart contract;
The $10 billion market cap presents an exciting opportunity for the DeFi ecosystem, especially for Bitcoin holders who are attempting to find yield on their idle holdings through DeFi.
The search for yield fuelled the Ethereum DeFi summer during the mid-2020s, causing the DeFi TVL to surge from below $1 billion to over $100 billion in just a few months.
As yield opportunities on Bitcoin begin to rise through Layer-2/Sidechain innovations and projects like Babylon and pSTAKE, the potential for BTCfi to become the largest sector in DeFi over the coming years is a thrilling prospect.
This is especially true for the BTCfi in the Cosmos ecosystem with the wBTC integration through Osmosis. The integration opens the doors for the asset to be natively issued on Osmosis and utilized in over 60 Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) enabled Cosmos appchains, expanding the utility and liquidity for wBTC.
In fact, it’s already started. Since being introduced to the Osmosis chain in February 2024, almost $5 million worth of wBTC has been natively issued on the Osmosis chain. In addition, $28 million worth of wBTC had previously been bridged to Cosmos through Axelar’s cross-chain infrastructure, bringing the total value of wBTC already on Cosmos to an impressive $33 million.
The impressive figures demonstrate the building momentum behind the push for wBTC being introduced to Cosmos and pSTAKE aims to help accelerate native wBTC adoption through our wBTC/XPRT liquidity pool that’s coming soon to Dexter.
Significance of wBTC on Persistence One
The integration of wBTC into the Persistence One ecosystem is HUGE as it is not just a new opportunity but a strategic move that will significantly benefit the entire ecosystem and boost on-chain activity.
As wBTC is issued natively on the Osmosis chain, a Cosmos-based appchain, it can now soon be transferred to the Persistence One blockchain through the IBC network and used to add liquidity to pools on Dexter paired with XPRT. As a result, wBTC holders will easily be able to earn yields and trade wBTC on Dexter, the Persistence One AMM.
Let’s take a look at these details a little closer.
Getting More Bitcoin Aligned
Bringing wBTC is significant for Persistence One as it brings us in closer alignment with the ethos of Bitcoin.
The Persistence One ecosystem is shifting its focus to the Bitcoin industry. We’re all Bitcoiners at heart, believing that BTC is a hedge against hyperinflation.
Bringing wBTC to the ecosystem is not just a business decision but a testament to our shared belief in Bitcoin’s ethos. We’re becoming more aligned with Bitcoin in two ways:
- Security alignment – Sharing security from Bitcoin’s PoW through Babylon
- Economic alignment – with wBTC liquidity and yield opportunities.
We’re betting big and early on the BTCfi industry, believing that it will be the sector’s next generational opportunity we’re determined to be a part of.
Brings New Users
Introducing the wrapped version of wBTC will also help to bring new users to the Persistence One ecosystem.
To begin, the opportunity to use wBTC in DeFi will attract new users, bringing liquidity to the ecosystem.
Increased liquidity → More Volumes → Better trading infrastructure —> More users → Increase adoption → Repeat: An enormous flywheel effect.
Generates On-Chain Activity and Trading Volume
Bringing the top-ranked cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, to the Persistence One ecosystem will not only add value but also boost on-chain activity.
You see, creating a liquidity pool where XPRT is paired with wBTC will provide more lucrative yield opportunities for liquidity providers, while opening up more trading routes on Dexter. As a result, the liquidity and volumes on the platform increases and enhances the overall on-chain activity.
What’s Next for Bitcoin on Persistence One?
The first stage for Persistence One’s plan to bring wBTC to the ecosystem is to begin building liquidity for a wBTC/XPRT pool on Dexter.
We’ll soon be opening a liquidity pool on Dexter, allowing Persisters to start depositing wBTC and XPRT to become liquidity providers and earn by facilitating trades into the pool.
In addition, the Persistence One chain will soon be secured using BTC security through Babylon, making it a go-to place for BTC trading and liquidity provision in the Cosmos ecosystem.
With wBTC incoming, we’re taking the first steps to help bring yield to Bitcoin with many more routes for additional cash flow incoming through the new products in our ecosystem.