Coinbase Launches Tokenized Bitcoin on Solana
Date: 2024-11-08 Author: Henry Casey Categories: BUSINESS
The new cbBTC token, which complies with the SPL standard, is fully backed by Bitcoin at a 1:1 ratio and is stored on the Coinbase platform. Major decentralized finance projects such as Jupiter, Raydium, Orca, and Jito have already implemented support for the new token, contributing to its popularity in the Solana ecosystem. According to blockchain data, $10 million worth of cbBTC has been issued so far.
Coinbase began experimenting with tokenized Bitcoin in September, launching an ERC-20 version on Ethereum. The company later announced plans to roll out the tool on Solana, a platform whose TVL has more than tripled since the start of the year to reach $6.6 billion. On the back of this news, the SOL token surpassed the $200 mark for the first time since April, strengthening its position in the market.
The positive premium on Coinbase indicates increased interest in Bitcoin among American investors, as noted by Julio Moreno of CryptoQuant. According to him, Donald Trump's success in the presidential election has become an additional factor attracting attention to the cryptocurrency in the United States. The positive premium means that Bitcoin is trading at a higher price on Coinbase than on other platforms, which may be due to increased demand among institutional investors.
The growing interest in Bitcoin among major players is confirmed by the increase in futures trading volume on CME. As of November 6, trading volume reached a record $13.35 billion, and the average daily turnover was $4.56 billion, which exceeds the figures before the FTX collapse in 2022. As K33 analyst Vetle Lunde noted, large institutional investors prefer to trade through regulated venues such as CME for security and compliance.
Since November 10, 2023, open interest on CME has surpassed Binance and maintained its leadership, demonstrating the sustained interest of large investors in the futures market. In parallel, the options market has also seen significant growth: open interest reached $25.2 billion, almost reaching the March peak of $30.2 billion. Options trading volume increased to $2.9 billion, confirming the active use of complex financial instruments by institutional players to manage risks.
Thus, the current growth in demand for Bitcoin in the US is largely due to the interest of institutional investors who are looking for stable and safe venues to work with cryptocurrency.
