Hong Kong’s Tokenised Deposit Pilot Goes Live: Big Banks Bet Big on Blockchain
Hong Kong just fired the starting gun on the future of banking—whether traditional finance is ready or not.
Three major banks have launched real-value tokenized deposits in a regulatory sandbox, marking Asia's most ambitious stab at merging legacy finance with blockchain rails.
The pilot could redefine how money moves—if the suits don't water it down first.
- Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) has officially launched on the Hedera network through a collaboration with BitGo, BiT Global, and LayerZero.
- The integration brings $13 billion worth of potential liquidity into Hedera’s growing DeFi ecosystem.
- Each WBTC on Hedera is fully backed 1:1 with Bitcoin held in secure custody by BiT Global.
The Hedera Foundation has confirmed that Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), the world’s leading tokenized form of Bitcoin, is now live on its institutional-grade network.
This integration was developed through a partnership with Hedera Council member BitGo, alongside BiT Global and LayerZero, marking a key step in expanding Hedera’s decentralized finance (DeFi) landscape.
WBTC, the industry’s leading tokenized FORM of Bitcoin, is now live on the institutional-grade @Hedera network.
This integration was made possible in collaboration with Hedera Council member @BitGo alongside industry-leading teams @BiTGlobalTrust and @LayerZero_Core 🧵 pic.twitter.com/48kKd12GEU
Since its introduction in 2019, WBTC has enabled Bitcoin holders to access the DeFi world without selling their BTC. It allows users to lend, trade, and provide liquidity while maintaining exposure to Bitcoin’s value.
The launch of WBTC on Hedera connects these capabilities to a high-performance blockchain that offers fast transactions and low fixed fees.
Hedera’s collaboration with LayerZero ensures cross-chain connectivity through Stargate Finance, allowing users to move WBTC seamlessly across networks.
All initial liquidity pools are now active on SaucerSwap, giving traders immediate access to Hedera’s expanding DeFi ecosystem.
Institutional-Grade Infrastructure for Bitcoin on Hedera
As per a statement by the Hedera Foundation’s Chief Growth Officer, James Hodgkins, having canonical WBTC is opening an avenue for all bitcoin owners to get into decentralized finance in a safe manner.
As for frontrunning issues, MEV (Miner Extractable Value) protection via Hedera’s consensus algorithm ensures that institutional investors feel SAFE to invest.
BitGo, which holds more than 126,000 BTC in custody and has a $13 billion market capitalization through WBTC, also played a key role in ensuring security and compliance.
Chen Fang, the Chief Revenue Officer of BitGo, spoke of this partnership as an effort to instill confidence in institutions to utilize Bitcoin in sustainable, efficient, and optimized networks such as Hedera’s.
The custody services of BiT Global also ensure that every WBTC token, which exists in the Hedera network, is backed by actual Bitcoin in a 1:1 manner, to provide undeniably transparent confirmation for everyone who holds those tokens.
It makes Hedera a significant competitor in the DeFi sector for institutions and individuals because of this trust-building attribute.
Hedera Strengthens Its Position in Bitcoin DeFi
The introduction of WBTC provides a new set of opportunities for developers and traders to provide liquidity for Bitcoin in Hedera’s ecosystem itself.
As WBTC is already accounting for more than 65% of the market of tokenized Bitcoin in Ethereum, it provides support to decentralized finance, which is Bitcoin-based, in Hedera’s ecosystem.
Industry experts also highlight that this development is set to speed up the pace of growth for Hedera as a platform for institutional decentralized finance projects.
Today, by offering speed, transparency, and low costs, Hedera is offering a platform for the next development chapter for Bitcoin in decentralized finance, which is an important step in making Bitcoin a borderless asset that is more function-oriented than what is available in today’s scenario.
