We’re excited to add yet another cryptocurrency to our growing pTokens catalogue, this time introducing Bitcoin to the Ethereum blockchain.

pBTC launches today on testnet, closely following our pEOS testnet launch in December.

Why Bitcoin?

Bitcoin was the first and most popularised cryptocurrency. Its blockchain was launched in 2008 amidst the crippling global financial crisis, sparking new ideas for alternative economic era.

Today it remains the largest cryptocurrency by market cap. It is also the cryptocurrency with the greatest liquidity.

pBTC for the HODLrs

If you haven’t learned about pTokens yet, read up on our introductory guide.

pBTC presents a new paradigm; it makes bitcoin (BTC) compatible with the Ethereum blockchain, which currently has the most advanced DeFi industry.

Put simply, pBTC is an ERC-20 token representation of bitcoin. It is pegged 1:1 so its value is intrinsically linked to that of bitcoin’s. Holders will be able to lock their BTC and instantly mint new pBTC, maintain their stake in bitcoin, while also making their coins completely useable in the Ethereum ecosystem.

This invites Bitcoin users to explore the hundreds of Ethereum DApps, platforms and tools available today. You can try out pBTC for yourself using our custom-made DApp.

pTokens dApp showing successful issuance of pBTC

pBTC also simplifies digital asset management. There are far more Ethereum wallet providers today than Bitcoin ones. By exchanging BTC into pBTC, users can store and safekeep their bitcoin in any Ethereum wallet of their choice. As every new pToken can be stored, Ethereum wallet will be a unique place for accessing and managing every crypto asset, from pEOS to pBTC.

Eventually, pTokens will connect any crypto asset with any blockchain, not just Ethereum. They will unleash liquidity throughout the entire DeFi ecosystem, a tool for enabling universal blockchain compatibility.

Are you an EOS hodler? Read up on pEOS!

For the BUIDLRs

From a technical standpoint, pBTC is an improvement of other current “wrapped” formats. These alternative projects have already begun to demonstrate the advantages of such a solution, though we believe we’ve hit the sweet point between composability and liquidity.

When compared to one of the most used solutions available in the market — wBTC — we have developed a token which aims to bring as much liquidity and create unparalleled market-making opportunities.

While both tokens are fully collateralized (backed one to one with BTC), pTokens allow users to instantly swap their coins. Both the pBTC issuance (minting) and BTC redeeming (burning) are done automatically.

This peg-in/out mechanism is so fast, it allows users to enter and exit the market continuously, enabling frictionless liquidity. This effortless process is vital to achieving market-making potential.

Additionally, the conversion process itself is decentralised, transparent and secure. The underlying infrastructure powering pTokens uses Provable’s unique Trusted Computing technology, secured via a Trusted Execution Environment. this means that the process is fully auditable (while wBTC relies on its so-called “vendors” for the backing)

Other projects are welcome to adopt this technique and integrate pTokens as an underlying technology.

As for decentralized exchanges (DEX) and DApps, pBTC will also introduce all of Bitcoin’s liquidity to Ethereum’s DeFi market, allowing it to flow seamlessly from one chain to the other. This is especially significant as Bitcoin is the world’s leading crypto asset when it comes to liquidity, being the most bought, sold and traded coin.

As of 16/01/2020

Ethereum is the second largest by market cap (though sometimes falls behind Ripple’s XRP), so linking these two leading blockchains is an important move for the wider blockchain community. As most of Bitcoin’s trading volume and activity occurs on centralized exchanges, DEXs can integrate pBTC and offer new trading opportunities for every user.

DApps will similarly enjoy this newfound DeFi composability, as they can instantly tap into Bitcoin’s market and investors, enabling BTC to be lent, borrowed and staked. As pBTC is backed by bitcoin’s value, it can also be used as collateral for synthetic assets. An example of this are Synths by DeFi project SynthetiX. These tokens provide exposure to assets such as gold, Bitcoin, U.S. Dollars and TESLA within the Ethereum blockchain. Stability of the token is gained by combining the value of these different commodities to minimise risk and diversify opportunity.

For a more technical deep dive into pTokens infrastructure, read our technical paper or check out the summary on our website.

For any blockchain project looking to integrate pTokens into their infrastructure, we have built a Js library.