Chain-key Bitcoin (ckBTC), a non-custodial Bitcoin token based on the Internet Computer blockchain (ICP), is set to bridge to the Cosmos ecosystem through the decentralized exchange (DEX) Osmosis. This marks the first introduction of a secure, non-custodial BTC to the Cosmos network.
The move comes as DeFi developers increasingly seek to integrate Bitcoin—currently the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization at $1.2 trillion—into diverse blockchain ecosystems. While Cosmos’s ATOM token is ranked 19th by market cap at $1.6 billion, its influential architecture of interconnected networks has made it a key player in the DeFi space. This design has influenced numerous other blockchains and has served as a foundation for several major DeFi projects.
Osmosis is collaborating with the ICP-built Omnity Network to facilitate the bridge for non-custodial BTC into Cosmos. CkBTC, which is pegged 1:1 to the value of Bitcoin, allows users to leverage Bitcoin’s value while utilizing it across other blockchain networks.
Currently, the most prominent token of this nature is Ethereum-based Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC). However, recent concerns about the involvement of Tron founder Justin Sun in BitGo, the custodian of WBTC’s underlying assets, have sparked debate. Last month, BitGo’s proposal to share WBTC custody with BiT Global—a partially Sun-controlled entity—raised fears of excessive centralization.
This controversy has fueled interest in alternative tokens, including dlcBTC, Threshold’s tBTC, and now ckBTC, as competitors seek to offer decentralized solutions to the challenges faced by existing Bitcoin token models.
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