Circle's cirBTC Struggles to Gain Traction Despite Institutional Credentials

Circle's wrapped Bitcoin product, cirBTC, has only 40 tokens in circulation 11 weeks after its launch on Ethereum. This is a stark contrast to its competitors, WBTC and cbBTC, which have six-figure supplies.

The small float of cirBTC has raised questions about the utility of Circle's infrastructure. CEO Jeremy Allaire described Circle as 'the platform for the internet financial system,' but cirBTC needs to show whether that infrastructure can produce liquidity and integrations to make wrapped Bitcoin useful as collateral.

Circle's integrated stack combines trust with platform control, which may appeal to regulated funds and businesses. However, this also creates a more selective path to primary-market access. WBTC and cbBTC already sit inside established exchange, wallet, and lending networks.

The company reported $73.3 billion of USDC in circulation at the end of the second quarter and $14.8 trillion of USDC onchain transaction volume during the period. These figures establish Circle's ability to operate a large token network.