Chainlink Bridges US$5B in Coinbase’s cbBTC to Monad, Expanding Bitcoin Liquidity in DeFi

Chainlink has enabled the transfer of Coinbase’s wrapped Bitcoin token, cbBTC, from Base to the Monad blockchain through its Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP), opening access to more than US$5 billion (AU$7 billion) in Bitcoin-backed liquidity. The integration connects Base and Monad, allowing cbBTC to move into Monad’s decentralised finance ecosystem.

Monad confirmed that cbBTC is now available across a range of applications on its network, with platforms including Curvance and Neverland introducing new markets centred on the token. The addition of cbBTC brings Bitcoin-backed capital into lending, borrowing and other DeFi use cases on Monad, which is an EVM-compatible layer-1 blockchain built for high-throughput trading and financial applications.

Coinbase launched cbBTC in September 2024 on Ethereum and Base, issuing the token on a 1:1 basis against Bitcoin held in custody and enabling minting and redemption tied to Bitcoin deposits on the exchange. More than US$5 billion (AU$7 billion) worth of cbBTC is currently in circulation across multiple networks.

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Infrastructure Built for Scale

According to Chainlink, CCIP has supported over US$28 trillion (AU$39.2 trillion) in on-chain transaction value and provides a standardised security framework for cross-chain transfers. The protocol operates with decentralised validation layers and a dedicated risk management system designed to monitor activity and support consistent 1:1 backing across networks.

Monad states that its network is capable of up to 10,000 transactions per second with sub-second finality, positioning it for transaction-intensive financial use cases as cbBTC liquidity enters its ecosystem.

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