According to Ethereum (ETH) blockchain data on May 12, a recent transaction resulted in the minting of 1000 Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) on the Ethereum network - which even exceeds the BTC locked into the lightning network. Wrapped Bitcoin have been gaining popularity, as it brings the liquidity of most popular digital asset to decentralized finance (DeFi).

Wrapped Bitcoins (wBTC) are ERC-20 tokens backed on a 1:1 ratio by Bitcoin, and there is currently just over $22 million in wrapped Bitcoin, with a total of 2.3k Wrapped Bitcoins. For comparison, there is roughly 927 Bitcoin on the Lightning Network. 

The total wBTC locked in DeFi. Source

Recently, MakerDAO integrated wrapped Bitcoin after its community approved a proposal. The growth of DeFi has been accompanied by a multitude of synthetic assets, with Bitcoin tokenization becoming common. Wrapped Bitcoin itself is an effort run by multiple entities, including MakerDAO, Kyber Network (KNC), BitGO and Compound, to give Bitcoin the flexibility of the ERC-20 token and better the Ethereum ecosystem.

WBTC tokens are expected to increase the liquidity of the DeFi space, and with respect to MakerDAO, users can use wBTC to generate the DAI stablecoin. This makes Bitcoin the fourth asset that can generate the stablecoin. Among other things, this makes it possible for smart contracts to more easily integrate Bitcoin.