Citrea has officially unveiled ctUSD, a stablecoin designed to function as a native liquidity layer within the Bitcoin ecosystem. The launch addresses the pressing issue of fragmented liquidity and aims to provide a unified, compliant solution for users.
Backed 1:1 by U.S. Treasury bills and cash, ctUSD is issued by MoonPay and operates on a robust M0-powered infrastructure. This initiative marks a significant step towards creating a secure and integrated stablecoin framework that eliminates the reliance on third-party bridges and fragmented tokens.
According to Orkun Kilic, CEO of Chainway Labs, which is responsible for developing Citrea, “Liquidity on Citrea is forming now. With a native, compliant standard immediately, the ecosystem won”t fragment into dozens of incompatible, risky bridged tokens, creating systemic risk before the ecosystem even matures.”
MoonPay will oversee the issuance and redemption of ctUSD, leveraging its U.S. Money Transmitter Licenses to ensure compliance. The stablecoin will be accessible to users in over 160 countries through major payment options like Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, and PayPal, although Canada, the European Economic Area, and New York are excluded from this rollout.
Citrea has also introduced a suite of developer tools, including virtual bank accounts that facilitate fiat-to-ctUSD conversions via ACH and wire transfers, supported by Iron. Furthermore, integrations with platforms such as Swaps.xyz and Helio will enable non-custodial cross-chain swaps and merchant payment solutions.
Initial access methods for ctUSD include Ethereum-based stablecoin swaps, Citrea-native decentralized exchange (DEX) pools, MoonPay onramps, and options for direct minting for large orders. This multifaceted approach is anticipated to enhance the overall liquidity and usability of Bitcoin, paving the way for a more robust financial ecosystem.
