Circle Unveils BTC-Backed USDC Borrowing Service for Institutional Clients
Circle has launched a new borrowing service on its Circle Mint platform that allows qualified institutional clients to borrow USDC against their Bitcoin holdings without selling a single coin.
The Digital Asset-Backed Borrowing (DABB) service uses cirBTC, the wrapped version of Bitcoin, as collateral and routes loans through third-party lending markets built on Arc and Ethereum.
The mechanics are straightforward: customers deposit BTC, mint cirBTC, post it as collateral on a supported lending protocol, and borrow USDC that is credited straight to their Circle Mint balance. To unwind the position, they send USDC back through the same interface, and collateral is released as the debt gets repaid.
The interest rates, collateral limits, and liquidation thresholds are set by the chosen lending market, not by Circle, and positions remain overcollateralized.