Citrea Launches Mainnet to Revolutionize Bitcoin Lending, Trading and Payments in USD

Citrea, a Bitcoin application platform backed by Founders Fund and Galaxy Ventures, has made headlines with its announcement of the mainnet launch, which advances the use of Bitcoin in capital markets. This development introduces ctUSD, a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, issued by MoonPay and designed to meet upcoming guidelines under the GENIUS Act. The combination of Citrea’s mainnet and ctUSD facilitates institutional-grade liquidity and payments in USD for Bitcoin-based financial activities.

Despite Bitcoin's impressive market capitalization of approximately $1.3 trillion, data highlights that over 61% of Bitcoin has remained inactive for over a year, primarily due to the absence of an effective native infrastructure. "Bitcoin is the largest digital asset in the world, yet its role in financial markets has largely been stunted. The demand for Bitcoin exposure is rising, but much of that activity is still off-chain, relying heavily on intermediaries," stated Orkun Kilic, co-founder and CEO of Chainway Labs, the developer behind Citrea.

Citrea's mainnet enables the management, deployment, and settlement of capital directly within Bitcoin's native markets. The introduction of ctUSD provides a bridge to fiat systems, supporting various use cases including Bitcoin-backed loans and institutional credit. Citrea has built its lending infrastructure in collaboration with leading DeFi operators such as Morpho and UltraYield from Edge Capital. Native offerings from Citrea will leverage on-chain and off-chain strategies from established digital asset institutions like Keyrock, ensuring transparent and secure BTC returns.

Bridget Harris, an associate at Founders Fund, noted, "Citrea is addressing a significant market opportunity by making Bitcoin truly programmable, a trait it has lacked at scale historically. By creating developer-focused products that leverage Bitcoin’s security, Citrea considerably expands the Bitcoin economy as a whole." Will Nuelle, General Partner at Galaxy Ventures, added, "By bringing capital markets, stablecoin liquidity, and application infrastructure directly to Bitcoin, Citrea facilitates deeper, more native engagement with BTC. This positions Bitcoin as a more active financial asset and enhances how institutions and users can engage and thrive on the network safely."

Citrea’s approach has profound implications for long-term demand, miner incentives, and the ways institutions interact with Bitcoin. It allows institutions to pursue more capital-efficient strategies with greater control and flexibility compared to off-chain platforms. As block subsidies decrease over time, Citrea aligns network security with actual economic usage.

With both the Citrea mainnet and ctUSD now live, interested parties can find more information by visiting citrea.xyz. Citrea stands out as an application layer for Bitcoin, enabling both institutions and individual users to access capital markets denominated in Bitcoin. The platform's goal is to enhance the financial utility of Bitcoin while firmly adhering to the security model of the network. Citrea is bolstered by notable investors including Founders Fund, Galaxy Ventures, Maven 11, Delphi Digital, Erik Voorhees, Balaji Srinivasan, and others. For further insights, visuals can be found through this link: Citrea Media.

Topics Consumer Technology)

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