BitGo Expands Wrapped Bitcoin To BNB Chain And Avalanche

According to Blockworks, BitGo is expanding its tokenized wrapped bitcoin (WBTC) product to BNB Chain and Avalanche, with LayerZero as its official interoperability provider. This move allows WBTC, a widely used collateral in decentralized finance (DeFi), to be natively minted on these chains without additional bridging risks for users transferring WBTC collateral from Ethereum. The expansion is facilitated by LayerZero’s Omnichain Fungible Token (OFT) standard, which is currently utilized by over 100 protocols, including Ethena, Ether.fi, and Swell. LayerZero’s OFT standard enables the transfer of WBTC between BitGo-approved chains at a low cost, using an omnichain message. This standard acts as a global accounting method that reduces the risks of double-spending or hacks associated with third-party bridges. BitGo’s security configuration for transferring WBTC involves a 1-of-2-of-3 decentralized verifier network (DVN) that includes LayerZero Labs, Polyhedra, and BitGo itself. This should not be confused with BitGo’s 2-of-3 multi-signature security model required for minting or burning WBTC. Bryan Pellegrino, co-founder and CEO of LayerZero Labs, highlighted the significance of this development, stating that WBTC is one of the largest assets in DeFi and BitGo is a trusted custodian in the crypto space. He emphasized the importance of teams owning their security and the innovative potential of LayerZero’s technology. Since its inception in 2021, LayerZero has facilitated 135 million omni messages and $50 billion in value across various chains. BitGo’s WBTC remains the most successful tokenized bitcoin collateral, with 152,950 WBTC ($8.7 billion) issued on Ethereum alone. However, the WBTC issuer faced controversy last month following a change in corporate ownership involving TRON founder Justin Sun. This led Sky Protocol (formerly Maker) to seek delisting WBTC collateralization from its DAI stablecoin, while Aave is adopting a cautious approach, according to Aave-Chan Initiative founder Marc Zeller.