Citrea launches mainnet, unlocks Bitcoin lending and collateral trading

Citrea has officially launched its mainnet, enabling lending activities, trading, and structured financial products collateralized by Bitcoin directly on the infrastructure connected to the Bitcoin network.

Along with the mainnet, the platform introduces ctUSD — a stablecoin fully backed by US Treasury bills and cash. This token is issued by MoonPay and is aligned with the upcoming stablecoin regulatory framework in the US under the GENIUS Act.

Citrea states that the goal of this launch is to activate the Bitcoin that is “lying dormant,” while also providing an institutional-grade payment layer for the Bitcoin-based capital markets. Instead of relying on intermediaries or wrapped BTC versions, ctUSD is designed as a liquidity and settlement layer with its core anchored directly to Bitcoin.

The project, developed by Chainway Labs with backing from Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund and Galaxy Ventures, has raised a total of $16.7 million through two funding rounds. According to the development team, Citrea’s mainnet focuses on bringing Bitcoin-secured financial activities on-chain, including BTC collateralized lending and institutional credit with payments made via ctUSD.

Citrea reports that more than 30 native Bitcoin applications are ready to deploy on the platform, as an increasing number of projects seek to expand Bitcoin’s role beyond passive holding, aiming to optimize capital utilization and build Bitcoin-based financial markets.