Circle Wrapped Bitcoin (cirBTC) Meets Aave’s Technical Listing Criteria

Aave Labs found Circle Wrapped Bitcoin (cirBTC) technically eligible for a possible listing in Aave’s Ethereum market, but its pre-listing review was not a listing decision.

Ethereum held about 910.15 cirBTC at the time of the assessment, with a value of about $70.12 million. Circle Wrapped Bitcoin is designed to let Bitcoin (BTC) be used in smart-contract applications without holders selling the underlying asset; an earlier snapshot of cirBTC’s supply and backing provides cross-chain context.

The review flagged controls over contract upgrades, transfer pauses and address freezes. Each was managed by a single key, with no onchain time lock. An audit report for the Cross Chain Token Service (CCTS) framework, which can mint cirBTC on Ethereum, had not been provided. At the time of the assessment, cirBTC was not an Aave reserve on Ethereum.

A reserve feed on the chain paired with Ethereum covered combined cirBTC supply across Ethereum and Arc. Five of 10 updates through Oct. 20 showed reserves below that combined supply, and most readings were corrected within minutes. The discrepancy’s cause could not be determined onchain.