For years, Bitcoin has mostly been seen as something you buy and hold—a kind of digital gold. But BTC is starting to move. With new tools and platforms, people can now put their Bitcoin to work: get rewards, lend it out, or use it in DeFi—all without selling it.
This article explains BTCf and why Aptos is quickly becoming one of the most active chains for it. We’ll also examine the key projects driving BTCfi on Aptos and how they’re turning idle BTC into productive capital.
What Is BTCfi?
BTCfi stands for Bitcoin Finance, which is the idea behind using Bitcoin in decentralized finance. Since Bitcoin doesn’t directly support smart contracts, people use wrapped versions like wBTC or xBTC. These tokens represent your Bitcoin and can be used in DeFi apps—for staking, lending, trading, or gettings without selling your actual BTC.
Why does this matter?
- It lets you benefit from your Bitcoin instead of just holding it.
- It connects Bitcoin to modern DeFi tools like lending platforms, DEXs, and stablecoins.
- It’s designed to be secure, often using bridges, multisigs, or zero-knowledge tech to protect your assets.
In short, BTCfi is about making Bitcoin active—turning it from a passive store of value into something that moves, rewards, and grows within the DeFi world.
Why Aptos?
At first glance, Aptos might seem like an unlikely candidate for BTCfi—it doesn’t natively support Bitcoin. But that’s exactly what makes its momentum so remarkable. Aptos is quickly becoming a BTCfi hub thanks to its advanced infrastructure and openness to cross-chain innovation.
Key strengths:
- MoveVM: Aptos uses the Move virtual machine, a safer, resource-centric smart contract platform ideal for managing wrapped assets like BTC.
- Speed and scalability: With parallel transaction execution and high throughput, Aptos provides the performance needed for BTCfi protocols.
- Cross-chain integrations: Aptos has embraced projects like OKX, Echo, and Aries, enabling BTC staking, lending, and DeFi interactions via bridges.
Together, these features create an ecosystem where Bitcoin can be used productively without compromising user experience or security.
Key Initiatives BTCfi on Aptos
The growth of BTCfi on Aptos is driven by a wave of strategic integrations that bring real Bitcoin liquidity. As of early June 2025, over $400 million worth of BTC is wrapped and active on Aptos, with weekly inflows of $20–30 million, a clear sign of accelerating adoption.
Let’s examine the key projects powering this movement and how each one is helping turn Bitcoin into productive capital within Aptos-native DeFi.
xBTC by OKX
OKX, one of the largest crypto exchanges, launched xBTC, a wrapped Bitcoin token on Aptos. This bridge enables users to deposit BTC and receive xBTC on Aptos, which can then be used in DeFi protocols for lending, staking, or yield farming.
- Total value bridged: $40M+.
- Share of BTC supply: ~10.6% of wrapped BTC on Aptos (as of June 2025).
- Purpose: Unlock idle BTC and bring it into Aptos-native liquidity pools.
- Status: xBTC is one of the most actively used BTCfi assets on Aptos.
aBTC by Echo Protocol
Echo provides a trust-minimized bridge that allows BTC holders to mint aBTC on Aptos—a pegged asset-backed 1:1 with native Bitcoin. aBTC can be staked, used in liquidity pools, or integrated with lending platforms.
- Supply share: aBTC represents 68.2% of all BTC-pegged assets on Aptos.
- TVL share: Echo Protocol accounts for 76.2% of Aptos BTC money market TVL.
- TVL: $350M (total across BTC DeFi protocols on Aptos).
- Focus: Secure BTC staking with minimal custody risk.
Echo’s architecture is designed to support long-term BTCfi infrastructure in Aptos, using MoveVM for composable DeFi integrations.
WBTC on Aries Markets
Aries Markets is a lending and borrowing platform built on Aptos that supports WBTC as a collateral asset. Users can supply WBTC to get or borrow other tokens against it.
- TVL in WBTC pools: ~$11M.
- Utility: Enables DeFi strategies like leveraging BTC exposure or getting passive income.
With Aries, BTC becomes fully composable in the Aptos lending stack, similar to how wBTC functions on Ethereum, but adapted for Move-based infrastructure.
SBTCZ on Echelon Markets
Another notable asset is SBTCZ, introduced by Echelon Market. This BTC-pegged token has found traction in Aptos liquidity protocols.
- TVL: ~$83M.
- Role: Further diversifies BTCfi options and deepens liquidity pools.
Comparison Table
| Token | Platform | Asset Type | Use Cases | TVL | Feature |
| xBTC | OKX | Wrapped BTC | Lending, staking, DeFi liquidity | $40M+ | Official OKX bridge to Aptos |
| aBTC | Echo Protocol | Trust-minimized BTC | BTC staking, DeFi pools, yield farming | ~$350M | Holds ~76% of BTC-pegged assets on Aptos |
| WBTC | Aries Markets | Collateral token | Borrowing/lending with BTC as collateral | ~$11M | Integrated into Aries lending platform |
| SBTCZ | Echelon Markets | BTC-pegged token | Trading, liquidity provisioning | ~$83M | Deep liquidity via Echelon’s liquidity pools |
Together, these initiatives form the backbone of BTCfi on Aptos, providing wrapped BTC assets, staking opportunities, and lending markets. The result is a fast-growing ecosystem where Bitcoin is no longer passive but fully active within Move-based DeFi.
Conclusion
Bitcoin is no longer idle capital. BTCfi is unlocking its potential, and Aptos is proving to be one of the most innovative and supportive environments for this transformation.
The BTCfi movement on Aptos is just beginning. Looking ahead, we expect:
- more advanced BTC staking tools,
- new bridges and wrapped BTC variants,
- deeper DeFi integrations (DEXs, derivatives, stablecoin collateral).
With its speed, developer focus, and growing ecosystem of cross-chain partners, Aptos is well-positioned to become the go-to Layer 1 for Bitcoin-based DeFi activity.
With xBTC, Echo, Aries, and others laying the foundation, the Bitcoin Finance movement on Aptos is growing fast, and we’re only just getting started.
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