Ethereum-Based Swell Imports Wrapped Bitcoin to Serve as Liquid Restaking Token

Ethereum staking project Swell has introduced “swBTC,” a liquid restaking token (LRT), to earn bitcoin holders yield from EigenLayer and rival restaking protocols Symbiotic and Karak.
SwBTC generates yield using wBTC, the token pegged 1:1 to BTC that can be put to work in the Ethereum network while retaining the value of the world’s largest cryptocurrency.
Users can deposit their wBTC to get swBTC in return, with yield expected to start flowing from mid-September, according to an announcement shared with CoinDesk on Wednesday.
Restaking is where ether (ETH) tokens that are deposited as security for the Ethereum network, a process known as staking, can be repurposed to secure other blockchains and protocols.
Swell’s aim is to extend the business case for restaking to crypto users who to benefit from the store of value offered by bitcoin while also benefiting from yields in other ecosystems.
“Swell’s roots are in Ethereum. But we are bullish on restaking across the blockchain ecosystem,” Swell founder Daniel Dizon said in the announcement. “That’s why we’ve launched a liquid restaking token for Bitcoin that will… help up to $1 trillion of bitcoin liquidity start flowing into DeFi.”
Read More: Bitcoin Could Get Ethereum-Style Restaking as Startup Lombard Raises $16M

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Jamie Crawley is a CoinDesk news reporter based in London.