Bitcoin loans are safer with regulated custodians than with crypto bridges

The first and largest cryptocurrency, spanning its price and adoption, mining, protocol politics, and its contested role as digital money and inflation hedge.

Where crypto assets are actually held and who controls the keys, from self-custody wallets to exchange accounts and regulated custodians.

DeFi protocols allowing users to earn interest or access liquidity by collateralizing crypto assets on-chain.

Circle introduced Digital Asset-Backed Borrowing for eligible Circle Mint customers on September 21, 2026. The service lets customers deposit Bitcoin, mint cirBTC and borrow USDC through integrated lending markets on Arc or Ethereum.