kBTC price

KBTC

kBTC is 1:1 backed by BTC. As such, there can never be more kBTC that BTC.

Similar to MakerDAO’s DAI, exceptions are short periods (typically minutes/hours) between liquidation of Vaults (e.g. due to theft of BTC or under-collateralization) and rebalancing through Interlay’s network participants.

kBTC is developed by the team behind the Interlay and Kintsugi Networks, led by Alexei Zamyatin and Dominik Harz. The two met in 2017 during their PhDs at Imperial College London where they were the first researchers of the cryptocurrency lab. Both have been researching Bitcoin and Ethereum since 2015/16, authoring over 30 papers with over 700 citations. Both regularly presented their work at Bitcoin and Ethereum conferences, including DevCon IV, EthCC, Building on Bitcoin, and Breaking Bitcoin.

The technology behind kBTC - the “XCLAIM framework” - was published as a paper at the top-tier, peer-reviewed IT security conference IEEE S&P. The XCLAIM paper, first released in 2018, describes the first-ever protocol to move cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin to DeFi platforms like Ethereum and Polkadot in an economically trustless and decentralized manner.

Secured by Insurance. kBTC holders are guaranteed to redeem kBTC 1:1 for BTC, or automatically be reimbursed in collateral in case of failure. Specifically, Vaults lock collateral on the Interlay network in various digital assets in a MakerDAO-inspired multi-collateral system. If Vaults misbehave, their collateral is slashed and users reimbursed.

Radically Open. Anyone can become a Vault and help secure kBTC, anytime. This makes kBTC 100% permissionless and decentralized.

To summarize, to trust kBTC, you only trust that Bitcoin and Polkadot (or any other blockchain that you want to use kBTC on) are secure.