Over $15 billion of Bitcoin are now tokenized in Ethereum.
According to trackers on March 25, 2022, 336,360 BTC–or over $15 billion–are locked in different DeFi smart contracts in Ethereum. This represents roughly two percent of the total Bitcoin circulation supply and a hint of how Ethereum has, over the years, emerged as a preferred destination for otherwise static but valuable Bitcoin.
Ethereum and Bitcoin are legacy networks and the two world’s most valuable blockchains by market cap. Despite efforts to popularize the Lightning Network, an off-chain solution for Bitcoin and Litecoin, more users are keen on exploring the growing Ethereum ecosystem comprising NFT and DeFi programs.
While holders of tokenized Bitcoin remain in charge of their assets on redemption, the use of third parties to tokenize introduces vulnerabilities compounded by the immutable nature of Ethereum and Bitcoin transactions.
Nonetheless, the lure of the above rate yields on various DeFi activities like liquidity provision or lending is irresistible.
By March 25, DeFi protocols cumulatively had a total value locked (TVL) of over $217 billion. Ethereum retains the lead with over 50 percent in market share.
At spot rates, ETH is trading at $3.1k, adding 14 percent in the last trading week.
