FAQ

wBTC, tBTC and others require you to send your BTC to their custody. With iBTC, your Bitcoin remains in your custody, in a locked state.

Atomic swaps are just simple swaps, so their functionality is very simple. DLCs escrow Bitcoin and move it based on any smart contract logic - DLCs are guided by off-chain data, e.g. from a smart contract and an oracle network. Atomic swaps are triggered by the state of two blockchains, but cannot enforce conditional logic based on off-chain information (e.g. asset price).

iBTC is not a security because: 1. The user (the iBTC merchant) self-wraps their own BTC and maintains self-custody 2. There is no scenario where we receive the user’s funds. So, we are not a money transmitter 3. iBTC tracks BTC price and maintains its peg through an arb mechanism. So, there is no inherent price appreciation

iBTC's use of DLCs, paired with a network of decentralized attestors, eliminates the risk of theft. The BTC depositor "self-wraps" to lock with himself, and only the original depositor can ever receive BTC funds.

Due to legal and regulatory restrictions, our services are not available in countries where cryptocurrency use is prohibited or where trade sanctions apply. For example, the United States has strict regulations regarding crypto activities, which can limit access to certain platforms. Similarly, countries under trade embargoes or sanctions, like North Korea or Iran, are often restricted to comply with international laws. This is a common practice in the crypto industry, as seen with platforms like Binance and Kraken, which also limit access based on regional regulations and compliance requirements.

We do not hold user’s BTC. We make software that lets them lock up their own BTC to use in DeFi protocols. So, we are not a money transmitter and do not require a Money Transmitter License. We do not require SEC or CFTC registration.

If merchants in the iBTC merchant network are unwilling or unable to redeem iBTC for underlying BTC, then the amount of reserve represented by that BTC is effectively illiquid for some amount of time. This can lead to a loss in consumer confidence of iBTC and a depeg. This is similar to when, in 2023, Silicon Valley Bank became insolvent and was taken over by NY Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). For a few days, SVB’s USD reserves backing USDC were illiquid. This led to a loss in consumer confidence and a temporary depeg. (This also created an opportunity for investors to buy USDC at a discount — as low as $0.85 — which they later redeemed for the full $1.) This scenario can happen for a number of reasons, including: - Insolvency: The depositor who holds the DLC becomes insolvent and is unable to obtain authority to redeem the iBTC. In this case, the ownership of the DLC would move through bankruptcy courts to an eventual new owner. During that time, the BTC remains illiquid. - Loss of Private Keys: If the iBTC merchant loses their private keys, they may be unable to retrieve the underlying BTC. In this case, the underlying BTC is permanently illiquid and inaccessible. - Bad Trades: If the iBTC merchant has traded away their iBTC for stablecoins or other tokens, and has lost money on those trades, then the merchant may not be able to acquire enough iBTC to unlock their DLC position. In such a case, an external entity might buy out their BTC position. The BTC is illiquid until the DLC can be unlocked. We are designing risk management mechanisms to protect the iBTC merchant ecosystem from loss of consumer confidence due to these and other liquidity issues.

HTLC refers to Hash Time Locked Contract, which is the most popular way to lock BTC, pending an event within a specific amount of time. DLCs use PTLCs (Point Time Locked Contracts), which can lock BTC on other conditions than just time. We use DLCs to create the self-wrapping mechanism, by enabling iBTC merchants to lock their BTC into a multisig that can only pay out to them.

iBTC is an oracle-free solution. 1 BTC is equal to 1 iBTC. Longer explanation: The original whitepaper refers to a “Bitcoin oracle” that decides whether Alice or Bob “win the bet”. We implemented DLCs as a human user entering into a DLC with a protocol. In our design, the “Bitcoin oracle” has been split into a blockchain and a DLC Attestor. The blockchain refers to a smart contract chain such as Ethereum, which emits an event that is read by a DLC Attestor. The Attestor runs an Eth validator node and can verify the event on-chain, before publishing its attestation. So, our attestors are more like relays — they translate a signal from Eth to Bitcoin settlement instructions. Once the event has been verified, the Attestor publishes its attestation which lets the Bitcoin to be moved.

DLC Attestors can never receive BTC, so they cannot steal it. The smart contract risk is: if the system were hacked, the DLC’s unlock could be censored. So, the iBTC merchant has deposited BTC, minted iBTC, burned iBTC but does not receive their BTC deposit back. We are mitigating this through smart contract audits, white hat hacking, bug bounties and other standard crypto protocol security mechanisms. Smart contract risk is always a feature of crypto protocols. However, iBTC is unique in that it is impossible for the BTC to be stolen. This is why we can call iBTC a “theft-proof” bridge. Read more here: https://www.dlcbtc.com/blog/the-theoretical-risks-of-dlcbtc

Attestors in iBTC ecosystem provide decentralized verification of peg-in and peg-out transactions on Ethereum. They secure the locking and unlocking of Bitcoin without holding user keys, offering an additional layer of security and trust.

iBTC maintains user sovereignty by allowing Bitcoin holders to keep ownership and control over their assets at all times, unlike custodial and bridged models that require BTC to be transferred to third parties.

Yes. Our development team has created iBTC, an ERC-20 token that looks and feels like wBTC, but operates differently under the hood. Integrating iBTC in DeFi protocols is as simple as listing it as accepted collateral. At institutions, this may require separate security and compliance approvals. Also, we’re launching $DLC token in 2025 to decentralize our DLC Attestor network.

DLCs were invented at MIT 6 years ago, but only became feasible with Bitcoin's recent Taproot update (Nov 2021). Taproot added Schnorr signatures and Point Time Locked Contracts (PTLCs), both of which are required to use DLCs in production.