Wrapped BTC on Solana Reaches $1B Market Cap—What This Means for SOL and Its DeFi Boom

• The wrapped Bitcoin product from Coinbase has topped the $1 billion market cap on Solana.
• Solana price has continued to shine amid a broader crypto ecosystem boom.

Recently launched on the Solana blockchain, the Coinbase Wrapped BTC (cbBTC) product has hit the $1 billion market capitalization milestone. This update comes amid surges in Solana’s price and a boom in the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) sector. 

Coinbase’s cbBTC Debuts on Solana

Coinbase recently announced in an X post that it has launched the cbBTC token on the protocol. According to Coinbase, the cbBTC is an SPL token backed 1:1 by Bitcoin (BTC) and held in custody by the exchange. CNF reported that the cbBTC initially debuted on Base, Coinbase’s Layer-2 solution, and the Ethereum network.

cbBTC is live on @solana.

cbBTC is an SPL token that is backed 1:1 by Bitcoin (BTC) held in custody by Coinbase.

This is the first token Coinbase has issued on Solana, and with it, we’re excited to bring easy access to BTC.

Here’s what you can do with your cbBTC on day one ↓

— Coinbase (@coinbase) November 7, 2024

It is worth noting that Coinbase announced the deployment of cbBTC to Solana during its Breakpoint event in Singapore in late September. cbBTC joins a growing list of wrapped Bitcoin tokens on Solana, including tBTC and WBTC (via Wormhole). This is in addition to upcoming assets like zBTC from Zeus Network and sBTC from Stacks. 

Notably, Coinbase’s cbBTC is already supported by prominent Solana-based DeFi platforms. This includes Jupiter Exchange, Kamino Finance, Meteora AG, Jito Labs, Phoenix, Drift Protocol, Raydium, Orca, Save Finance, and Manifest. Therefore, many anticipate it will play an important role in Solana’s DeFi ecosystem, opening up new prospects for liquidity and collateral in lending protocols.

Intriguingly, the Solana DeFi ecosystem has experienced phenomenal growth this year. For instance, Solana’s Total Value Locked (TVL) increased by 385% year-to-date, according to the latest data from Artemis. At press time, it stood at $7 billion.

Solana’s DeFi growth is further evidenced in cbBTC reaching the $1 billion market cap in just nine weeks. Furthermore, cbBTC has secured its position as the sixth-largest wrapped asset, according to CoinMarketCap. The token’s price increased by 0.85% in the last 24 hours and 9.8% in the past week. 

Among BTC-backed assets, cbBTC only trails behind Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), demonstrating its increasing adoption among users.

Solana’s Current Market Performance

Meanwhile, the price of SOL has risen by double digits in the last seven days, fueled by BTC’s bull run. Consequently, SOL rallied to $198, almost 23% lower than its All-Time High (ATH). At press time, SOL is trading at $200, down 1.5% in the last 24 hours, but increased by 20.8% in the weekly timeframe.

SOL is currently ranked the 4th-largest cryptocurrency, with a market capitalization of $94.5 billion. The 24-hour trading volume stood at $4.3 billion, reflecting a 24% drop. Despite this fall, SOL’s value and recent price increase indicated its ongoing momentum. Veteran trader Peter Brandt predicted Solana could push close to $260 upon overcoming critical resistance levels. 

Adding cbBTC and other new assets strengthens Solana’s position in the crypto market.