Kyber's CEO talks about WBTC (wrapped bitcoins) and its potential impact on Bitcoin and Ethereum

WBTC (Wrapped Bitcoin), a new innovative token that aims to bridge the gap between Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchain, launched on October 26th as a joint venture between BitGo, Kyber Network and Republic Protocol.

The new bitcoin ERC20 token will fill the worlds of the two main cryptoassets as it will effectively allow to exchange bitcoins with other assets on DEX based on Ethereum (decentralized exchanges), bring liquidity from Bitcoin to Ethereum and allow a new suite of Bitcoin applications enabled for Ethereum.

In a significant detachment from other types of asset-backed tokens such as USD stablecoins – which have been indicted for their perceived lack of transparency – the project aims to ensure transparency by "confining" and burning tokens in a way that is publicly verifiable on both the Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains.

CryptogGlobe spoke with the CEO and co-founder of Kyber Network Loi Luu of the project, its origins and its potential impact on crypto economy.

CryptoGlobe: When did the idea of ​​WBTC and BitGo come about, Kyber and Republic have worked together since conceptualization?

Loi Luu: Kyber explored solutions to bring Bitcoin and other coins to Ethereum for a long time (see our blog posts on PeaceRelay and Porting Bitcoin on Ethereum). The idea of ​​WBTC came together when we discussed with Ben and Tai and we decided to create a practical solution to offer Bitcoin on Ethereum.

Csol: Kyber and Republic get all the initial Bitcoin liquidity to launch: do you have a WBTC baseball figure released at launch?

LL: We will certainly provide initial liquidity, but we expect other traders or partners to do the same. I can not speak for others, but Kyber will provide at least $ 1 million in Bitcoins.

Csol: After the launch, where do you expect to see the biggest WBTC request?

LL: Decentralized exchanges and other financial protocols such as Dharma, Compound finance and index funds.

Do you want more exchanges and keepers to join? For example, how does Coinbase have a DEX product, bitcoin liquidity and a custody solution of sorts, would they be a partner or do you see them as a potential competitor?

WBTC is a community-led project, so we welcome everyone to participate as traders, custodians and DAO members. The initiative is governed by a DAO that includes many projects in space to create a single standard for transversal activities that no one owns. Therefore, we strongly hope and expect other projects and companies in space, including Coinbase and other DEX, to adhere to the initiative and work together.

CG: Do you think this will raise the value proposition for Ethereum and Bitcoin?

LL: Absolutely, WBTC helps get the best out of both worlds: it brings the most popular cryptocurrency (in terms of market capitalization and trading volume) to Ethereum and allows it to be programmable with intelligent expressive contracts on Ethereum.

CG: Do you think this will be a precedent of transparency in the encrypted / traditional finance worlds, that publicly verifiable tokenisation models become the standard?

LL: Transparency is what we want to achieve and evaluate a lot in WBTC. And yes, we would be happy to have everyone work together on a single standard when it comes to tokenising other assets. That's why the entire initiative is designed to be open and community-oriented to accommodate this collaboration.