FAQ
xcBTC allows you to activate your Bitcoin on other Blockchains: decentralised, transparent and compliant. It’s automation makes xcBTC the most cost-effective product available. It’s regulated operators ensure security, trust and transparency. Not one entity owns xcBTC! This website is managed by Papers AG, Zug and xcBTC / tzBTC is supported by the Tezos Foundation, one of the largest BTC holders.
tzBTC is the predecessor of xcBTC on the Tezos blockchain. In 2020, tzBTC was launched as a FA1.2 token on Tezos. 2023 a bridge was built, so users could easier turn their native BTC in to tzBTC on Tezos. In 2025, the bridge was extended, so users can turn native Bitoin on tzBTC on Tezos, xcbTC on Etherlink and xcBTC on Ethereum, using the same setup.
It is planned to rename tzBTC on Tezos to xcBTC in 2025.
A distributed group of Keyholders can access via multi-signature wallets the underlying Bitcoin and manage the supply with minting and burning of the corresponding xcBTC. Keyholders and Gatekeepers typically use a standard contract. Gatekeepers accept BTC after conducting KYC & AML checks (identity verification) and allocate xcBTC in return. There is no limit to the number of Gatekeepers allowed.
xcBTC can be accessed via Gatekeepers. Individuals benefit from direct onboarding on xcbtc.io/getxcbtc/. Certain juristictions are not supported due to regulatory uncertainties. Institutions can either onboard via a Gatekeeper or become a Gatekeeper themselves. Each keyholder can be contacted to learn more about the process to onboard new Gatekeepers.
The xcBTC bridge is built on technology from Acurast, the Decentralized Serverless Cloud platform. Bridging from BTC to xcBTC, a user sends BTC to a Bitcoin RedeemScript governed by the keyholders and their Acurast processors. This transaction is observed and verified by these Acurast processors on multiple bitcoin nodes. Once confirmed, these Acurast processors act as signers which are allowed to sign a minting transaction on the xcBTC contract on the target chain. A similar process is in place when sending xcBTC to BTC: The Acurast processors verify the burn on the xcBTC side and then redeem the BTC on the Bitcoin side. Learn more about the technology stack from Acurast: https://docs.acurast.com.
No, that is not currently possible. The implementations are completely isolated from one another. For security reasons, it was decided not to offer this possibility at the moment. This approach ensures that if any target chain implementation of xcBCT is flawed or breached, the fallout will not propagate to the other chains.
In the future, that possibility might be offered.
tzBTC on Tezos: FA1.2: KT1PWx2mnDueood7fEmfbBDKx1D9BAnnXitn xcBTC on Etherlink: ERC-20: 0xDad5c244B141c60Bb5176DB3a04f7073362bA9Ac xcBTC on Ethereum: ERC-20: 0xDad5c244B141c60Bb5176DB3a04f7073362bA9Ac