Morpho enables cirBTC deployment on Arc lending markets

Circle’s Arc blockchain went live with Morpho baked in as its primary lending engine, and the results were immediate. Day-one deposits surpassed $150 million across USDC and EURC vaults, all borrowing against cirBTC, Circle’s 1:1 Bitcoin-backed wrapped token. How the cirBTC-Morpho setup works The core idea is straightforward: hold Bitcoin, don’t sell it, and still access liquidity. cirBTC represents a claim on actual BTC held in segregated custody, which means holders can deposit it as collateral on Morpho’s lending markets and borrow USDC or EURC against it. Morpho Blue, the protocol’s permissionless lending layer, handles the variable-rate earn and borrow positions. It also integrates with APIs designed for fintech applications. Chainlink’s proof-of-reserves system verifies that the underlying BTC actually exists in custody. The supply of cirBTC on Ethereum was limited to roughly 40 BTC outstanding as of mid-August, suggesting the real action was always intended to happen on Arc itself rather than on existing chains. Why Arc chose Morpho over building from scratch Morpho’s architecture allows for isolated markets with customizable risk parameters. The validator set for Arc includ...