Circle Launches cirBTC as Strategy Buys Bitcoin and MetaMask Adds AI Wallet

Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, went live Monday with cirBTC on Ethereum mainnet, a 1:1 BTC-backed ERC-20 token targeting the roughly $13B synthetic bitcoin market. The product is built for institutional participants including OTC desks, market makers, lenders, and DeFi protocols that need tokenized BTC for collateral and settlement without liquidating their underlying bitcoin position. A key differentiator is its use of Chainlink Proof of Reserve for real-time, on-chain verification of BTC backing, a feature designed to close the trust gap left by custodial bridge products that rely on periodic audits.

The launch puts Circle in direct competition with BitGo's Wrapped Bitcoin, which holds roughly 85% of the wrapped BTC market at a $9B cap, and Coinbase's cbBTC, which sits near $5.4B. Circle is pitching cirBTC to institutions already familiar with its infrastructure through USDC, the second-largest stablecoin with a market cap above $75B. Circle said Ethereum was selected as the launch network because it remains the largest hub for institutional DeFi activity, with a multichain expansion planned through its Arc blockchain initiative.

Strategy Resumes Bitcoin Accumulation as BTC Hovers Near Key Support

Separately, Strategy resumed bitcoin buying, purchasing 1,550 BTC one week after rattling the market with its first disclosed bitcoin sale since 2022. That sale of just 32 BTC for roughly $2.5M was small in dollar terms but broke the firm's long-standing never-sell narrative and triggered a sharp selloff that pushed BTC to lows near $59,101. Bitcoin has since recovered to trade around $63,000 to $63,800, up roughly 2.2% in 24 hours, though analysts caution the bounce remains fragile.

Macro headwinds continue to weigh on sentiment ahead of Wednesday's U.S. CPI print and a Federal Reserve meeting next week. Analysts at MEXC Research noted that the $60,000 to $63,000 zone remains the critical line to defend, and a reclaim of $66,000 on strong spot volume would be needed to shift sentiment meaningfully. Spot bitcoin ETFs have seen cumulative year-to-date outflows exceeding $3.1B, with investors rotating capital toward AI and semiconductor equities that have surged roughly 170% over the past year.

In a third development, MetaMask launched an AI agent wallet with built-in security features aimed at crypto traders, as AI agents increasingly emerge as active participants in digital asset markets, executing trades and managing capital autonomously on behalf of users. The wallet adds a new layer of tooling to the growing intersection of artificial intelligence and on-chain finance, an area drawing significant developer and institutional attention heading into the second half of 2026.