Circle launched cirBTC on Ethereum mainnet on June 8, 2026, an ERC-20 token backed 1:1 by native Bitcoin held at a regulated Circle entity, segregated from corporate assets. Within two days, an Aave governance proposal sought to onboard cirBTC as collateral on both V3 Core and V4 Core instances, citing institutional demand for regulated BTC-backed borrowing.
For Armada's crypto repo desk, cirBTC represents a new category of regulated wrapped Bitcoin collateral that counterparties such as hedge funds and family offices may begin posting. The Fireblocks custody integration should be verified for cirBTC compatibility, and any Aave-approved LTV and liquidation threshold for cirBTC should feed directly into Armada's haircut calibration for wrapped BTC instruments, distinguishing it from WBTC given Circle's regulated custody structure.