During the nascent stages of the blockchain industry, things were simple. The market was dominated by a single blockchain, the Bitcoin network. The purpose of Bitcoin, and therefore blockchain technology itself, was clear. However, as time progressed, multiple competing blockchains emerged, each with its own unique mix of features, strengths, and shortcomings.
This muddied blockchain’s raison d’etre and created a considerable challenge. How do you promote the adoption of blockchain technology when the underlying technology itself is largely misunderstood? And the entire industry has many individual, siloed, incompatible networks; each vying for prominence.
To have any hope of achieving widespread adoption, the industry needs a decentralised wide area network of multiple interconnected blockchains. Such an interoperable system could enable the seamless transfer of value and information from one blockchain to another. While it is still a work in progress, this process is commonly referred to as cross-chain bridging. Wanchain exists to make interoperability happen.
Wrapped, or cloned, BTC
Today, there are many popular blockchain networks. While the Bitcoin Network remains the most valuable, Ethereum is arguably the most popular. Others, such as Avalanche and BNB Chain are also notable. It’s no surprise, then, that many people want to use their BTC on their preferred networks to access a wider range of decentralised applications.
To use BTC on blockchains other than the Bitcoin Network, the BTC first needs to be wrapped, or cloned. Cloned BTC lets users use their BTC in recent yield-generating innovations like lending, borrowing, and staking. Several varieties of cloned BTC currently exist. Well-known examples include:
- BTC.b on Avalanche
- BTCB on the BNB Chain
- WBTC on Ethereum
Let’s take a closer look at each and explore how to transform BTC into one of these cloned BTC.
Unworthy: Transforming BTC into WBTC on Ethereum
WBTC, or Wrapped Bitcoin, is the most popular cloned BTC on the Ethereum network. Each WBTC is backed by a full BTC held by a professional custodian. In order to transform BTC into WBTC, users must submit a request to an approved WBTC merchant. Users must then pass Anti Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures. If approved, the merchant will send BTC to the custodian who then mints and returns the equivalent amount of WBTC. To reverse the process, users must also pay a fee. While WBTC is the most used cloned BTC in the industry, the cost of converting BTC to WBTC is high – merchants usually charge a 0.3% premium. Importantly, this is a totally centralized and permissioned solution, only available to select users.
3rd party cross-chain bridges typically don’t offer BTC to WBTC routes while cross-chain swaps suffer from high slippages and fees, so relying on centralised exchanges or manually purchasing WBTC on a DEX remain the most common ways for regular users to get WBTC.
Befuddled: Transforming BTC into BTCB on BNB Chain
BTCB, or Bitcoin BEP2, is a cloned token issued on the BNB Chain by Binance, the largest centralised exchange in the world. Each BTCB is backed by a full BTC held in reserve by Binance. In order to transform BTC into BTCB, users need to create an account with Binance or another CEX and, depending on the exchange, complete KYC procedures. While the cost of transforming BTC into BTCB is relatively low – users only need to pay the exchange’s trading and withdrawal fees – this is, again, a totally centralised and permissioned solution.
3rd party cross-chain bridges typically don’t offer BTC to BTCB routes while cross-chain swaps suffer from high slippages and fees, so relying on centralised exchanges remains the most common way regular users get BTCB.
Arduous: Transforming BTC into BTC.b on Avalanche
Issued on Avalanche, BTB.b is a cloned token backed by a full BTC on the Bitcoin Network. In order to transform BTC into BTC.b, users must install a dedicated extension wallet called the Core Extension. While this is a permissionless solution and the cost of transforming BTC to BTC.b is low, it is centralised and requires great effort.
3rd party cross-chain bridges typically don’t offer BTC to BTC.b routes while cross-chain swaps suffer from high slippages and fees, so using the Core Extension or manually purchasing BTC.b on a DEX remains the most common solutions.
It is painfully clear that transforming your BTC on Bitcoin into one of either WBTC on Ethereum, BTCB on BNB Chain, or BTC.b on Avalanche isn’t easy or even possible for most users. There is no cheap, easy, decentralised mechanism to do so.
Until Now.
Introducing BTC XFlows
Wanchain’s BTC XFlows is a decentralised cross-chain solution that enables native-to-native cross-chain transformations between BTC on Bitcoin and many of the most popular varieties of cloned BTC. In other words, BTC XFlows lets you move seamlessly between BTC on Bitcoin, BTBC on BNB Chain, BTC.b on Avalanche and WBTC on Ethereum in a fast, cheap, non-custodial and decentralised way. And it’s only on Wanchain.
Not only is BTC XFlows a totally permissionless and decentralised solution, it is also low-cost and extremely easy to use. Rather than needing to seek the approval of approved merchants, registering with centralised exchanges or installing dedicated software, Wanchain’s BTC XFlows is incredibly easy to use. Users only need to use their favourite BTC wallet and a popular web browser extension, like Metamask. You don’t need to ask Wanchain for approval either. You just click and go.
As if that weren’t enough, Wanchain’s BTC XFlows allows all users to freely move between BTC.b, BTCB and WBTC, without needing to first move back to Bitcoin. In other words, users can transform their WBTC directly into BTCB or BTC.b, and vice versa. Other notable 3rd party bridges don’t offer this functionality, while cross-chain swaps suffer from high slippage and fees. Wanchain’s BTC XFlows is ALWAYS 0% slippage, by design.
An easy, permissionless, decentralised way to transform BTC into WBTC, BTCB or BTC.b has finally arrived – just use Wanchain’s BTC XFlows at bridge.wanchain.org!
One more thing…
Wanchain’s XFlows aren’t limited only to BTC. XFlows enables native-to-native cross-chain transformations for other prominent assets as well, including ETH, USDT, and USDC!
Other XFlows Wanchain offers are USDT, USDC, and ETH!
Try XFlows today at bridge.wanchain.org
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Disclaimer
The information discussed by Altcoin Buzz is not financial advice. This is for educational, entertainment, and informational purposes only. Any information or strategies are thoughts and opinions relevant to the accepted levels of risk tolerance of the writer/reviewers and their risk tolerance may be different than yours. We are not responsible for any losses that you may incur as a result of any investments directly or indirectly related to the information provided. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are high-risk investments so please do your due diligence. This article has been sponsored by Wanchain. Copyright Altcoin Buzz Pte Ltd.
