Interesting news about how Chainlink is expanding DeFi capabilities: they just connected cbBTC from Coinbase to the Monad blockchain. This means that over 5 billion dollars of bitcoin liquidity are now available for decentralized financial applications on this network.

Technically, it all works through CCIP — Chainlink's cross-chain interaction protocol, which allows securely transferring wrapped assets between blockchains. In this case, CCIP serves as an exclusive bridge infrastructure, meaning users can transfer cbBTC directly from Base without relying on third-party bridges. Each token is backed 1:1 by real bitcoin, so the value guarantee remains unchanged.

Why is this important? Monad is positioned as a high-speed blockchain compatible with Ethereum but with much faster processing and lower fees. Until now, developers there lacked bitcoin-denominated assets to create full-fledged DeFi products. Now, the situation has changed.

Practical applications are already emerging. Lending protocols can accept cbBTC as collateral, allowing owners to access liquidity without selling their position. Developers are creating bitcoin-denominated vaults and derivatives. Two projects, Curvance and Neverland, have already started working with cbBTC markets on Monad.

Johann Ayd from Chainlink Labs emphasized that the protocol provides security at institutional standards when transferring billions of dollars between chains. Josh Leavitt from Coinbase noted that combining a quality wrapped asset with a productive blockchain significantly broadens the scope of cbBTC use cases. Keone Hon, co-founder of Monad Foundation, highlighted that developers can now create bitcoin-backed applications without sacrificing network speed.

Taming is interesting. Bitcoin-backed assets have recently gained popularity as collateral in DeFi. Against the backdrop of geopolitical uncertainty, demand for financial products that provide access to bitcoin without direct ownership is growing among both retail and institutional players. The availability of 5 billion dollars of cbBTC at the application level on Monad creates a concrete channel for utilizing this capital, and CCIP provides the necessary security level for serious institutions to take this step.