Tokenized Bitcoin: supply, custody and use.

Research on issuance, redemption and where wrapped BTC is held, using measured onchain balances and documented custody structures.

Wrapped BTC, covered supply

308,543 BTC

WBTC
109,673
cbBTC
↑ 1.6× 1y93,827
BTCB
65,301
LBTC
7,823
SolvBTC
5,673
tBTC
3,869
uniBTC
3,667
Other wrappers
18,711

Coverage and exclusions

The data behind the research

All charts →

Wrapped BTC supply by issuer

How is tokenized BTC supply split between issuers, and how is that changing?

A line chart of outstanding wrapped BTC supply by issuer over time. WBTC is the largest named series; cbBTC, launched in late 2024, grew to nearly match it; BTCB, issued on BNB Chain, is a steady third; LBTC, SolvBTC, tBTC and uniBTC are smaller; every wrapper below about one percent of supply is aggregated into one series. Supply is netted of bridge escrow on the chains where escrow is measured and reported gross on the rest.

WBTC and cbBTC together hold about two of every three tokenized bitcoin. Over the year shown, cbBTC grew fast while WBTC edged down.

What holds wrapped BTC

Is tokenized BTC being used, or is it sitting still?

A single stacked bar showing share of wrapped BTC balances by holder type. Lending markets hold the largest share at close to half, followed by idle wallet balances at about a third; unlabelled contracts, bridge escrow, custody and vaults, and DEX liquidity hold single-digit shares each.

Close to half of tokenized BTC sits in lending market contracts and about a third in wallets with no protocol label.

Where wrapped BTC sits, by chain

Which chains hold tokenized BTC, and how concentrated is that distribution?

A stacked area chart of wrapped BTC supply by chain over time. Ethereum holds the largest share throughout; BNB Chain is second, almost entirely BTCB; Base rises to third; Arbitrum is a distant fourth, followed by Arc; Avalanche, Monad and Ink are named but small; Optimism, MegaETH and Etherlink are aggregated into one remainder series.

Ethereum holds a majority of tokenized supply, and BNB Chain and Base together account for roughly two fifths.

What we study

  1. Wrappers

    — Issuance, redemption and the supply structure of tokenized BTC.
  2. Lending

    — How wrapped BTC is used as collateral and what that implies for risk.
  3. Yield

    — Where BTC-denominated yield comes from, and what is actually being paid for it.
  4. Custody

    — Who holds the underlying, under what structure, and how verifiable it is.
  5. Flows

    — Movement between chains, venues and wrappers.
  6. Risk

    — Concentration, dependency and failure modes across the wrapper stack.

Why this exists

Supply alone does not describe custody or redemption risk. This publication combines measured balances with research into the arrangements behind each wrapper and the venues that depend on it.

Written by Andrey Shivalin, tokenized bitcoin researcher.

Working on tokenized BTC?

Commissioned research, measurement design and review on wrapped-BTC market structure.