Circle launched Digital Asset-Backed Borrowing on September 21, 2026, a service letting institutional clients borrow USDC against their Bitcoin holdings without selling them, according to Bloomingbit and Odaily. Users convert BTC into cirBTC, a 1:1 tokenized version of Bitcoin custodied by Circle National Trust, then post it as collateral to borrow through third-party lending protocols.
The service currently runs on Circle's own Arc blockchain and Ethereum, with Morpho as the first integrated lending protocol; Circle plans to add support for Aave next, per Bloomingbit. On Arc specifically, Crypto Briefing reported that Morpho-powered cirBTC lending drew over $150 million in deposits on its very first day, signaling strong institutional appetite.
The launch builds on cirBTC's broader rollout since Circle first unveiled the wrapped-Bitcoin plan in April and brought it live on Ethereum in June, positioning the token as institutional-grade collateral with real-time reserve verification. For now, Digital Asset-Backed Borrowing remains exclusive to institutional clients, giving firms like OTC desks and market makers a way to unlock liquidity from BTC holdings without triggering a taxable sale or losing price exposure.
#CircleLaunchesInstitutionalBTCBackedBorrowing
$BTC
$XRP
$MUBARAK
The service currently runs on Circle's own Arc blockchain and Ethereum, with Morpho as the first integrated lending protocol; Circle plans to add support for Aave next, per Bloomingbit. On Arc specifically, Crypto Briefing reported that Morpho-powered cirBTC lending drew over $150 million in deposits on its very first day, signaling strong institutional appetite.
The launch builds on cirBTC's broader rollout since Circle first unveiled the wrapped-Bitcoin plan in April and brought it live on Ethereum in June, positioning the token as institutional-grade collateral with real-time reserve verification. For now, Digital Asset-Backed Borrowing remains exclusive to institutional clients, giving firms like OTC desks and market makers a way to unlock liquidity from BTC holdings without triggering a taxable sale or losing price exposure.
#CircleLaunchesInstitutionalBTCBackedBorrowing
$BTC
$XRP
$MUBARAK
