Chainlink Gains BitGo WBTC as Migration Tally Hits $14.6 Billion

TLDR

• BitGo will replace LayerZero with Chainlink as WBTC’s exclusive cross-chain provider.
• The BitGo WBTC move raises the announced Chainlink migration assets to about $14.6 billion.
• WBTC currently has a market capitalization of approximately $7.4 billion.
• BitGo will use Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Token standard and CCIP for future assets.
• The structure lets BitGo control token contracts, transfer limits, and other security settings.

BitGo will replace LayerZero with Chainlink as the exclusive cross-chain provider for wrapped Bitcoin. The BitGo WBTC decision raises the value covered by announced LayerZero-to-Chainlink migrations to about $14.6 billion.

WBTC has a market value of roughly $7.4 billion. Earlier projects had already announced about $7.24 billion in assets moving to Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol, known as CCIP.

WBTC tracks bitcoin’s price while operating as a token on other networks. Users can employ it in decentralized finance markets for trading, lending, borrowing and collateral without moving native bitcoin directly across those applications.

Migration Follows Bridge Security Concerns

The change comes after several crypto projects reviewed their bridge setups following the $292 million exploit of Kelp DAO’s LayerZero-powered bridge earlier this year. The incident drew closer attention to how LayerZero bridge systems were configured.

Mantle, Kelp, Lombard, Solv Protocol, Virtuals, Re and Kraken have also announced plans to move cross-chain activity to Chainlink. Together, these changes have pushed the migration total close to $15 billion.

BitGo Retains Control of Token Contracts

BitGo plans to use Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Token standard for WBTC deployments. It will also use CCIP as the default cross-chain system for future assets issued by the company.

The setup allows BitGo to keep control of its token contracts. It can also set rate limits and other transfer rules for assets moving between supported blockchains.

BitGo selected LayerZero in 2024 to expand WBTC to more networks. The company first used the system for WBTC deployments on Avalanche and BNB Chain.

Under that earlier model, BitGo’s verifier had to approve each transfer together with either LayerZero or Polyhedra. The new structure places Chainlink at the center of WBTC’s cross-chain system.

Chainlink’s directory already lists CCIP-enabled WBTC pools on Ethereum and Ronin. BitGo has not provided a date for completing the wider migration across all supported networks.

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