WBTCUSD
Wrapped Bitcoin / United States dollar
crypto Composite

You're right about the smart contract limitation. Bitcoin itself can't interact directly with DeFi protocols like Aave because it doesn't support smart contracts natively. That's why we need wrapped versions (like WBTC, renBTC, etc.) to represent Bitcoin on Ethereum and other smart contract platforms.
If you want to lend "unwrapped" BTC, you'd need to use a centralized platform like BlockFi, Nexo, or Celsius (though be careful with CeFi platforms given recent collapses).
Alternatively, check out solutions built directly on Bitcoin like:
1. Lightning Network's "Loop" for more limited lending functionality
2. RSK (

Promised is a functional trustless BTC wrapper that should function like WETH where no entity is custodian of the BTC (unlike WBTC).
Once this is completed it’s likely to be used

Not really. Bitcoin native lending doesn't exist afaik. As a chain it's too slow for L1 apps to be built on it.
That means you'll have to use a centralized option or side chain. 
Centralized chains can implode.. see Celsius last cycle.
Side chains have other risks and require wrapped BTC.
AAVE with WBTC is going to be one of your safer options. It's among the largest and most trusted protocols.

It's a good question.
There are a number of reasons but I would say while Cardano and Ethereum (and Solana for that matter) are all setting out to provide similar utility as L1's. As a BTC maxi, I like Cardano because it's based on UTXO's like Bitcoin. Whereas the others are based on "accounts". Both have their pros and cons but Cardano is the most able to integrate Bitcoin directly into smart contract functionality. Eth needs WBTC to achieve this.
So as BTC wins maybe ADA wins.

People talk about “privacy coins” like they’re some kind of secret identity.
But privacy isn’t an identity.
It’s not even a label.
**Privacy is a route.**
**A small side-road you can choose to walk when the main street is too loud.**
And what’s interesting about ZEN (Horizen) today — now that it’s evolving into a Base-aligned L3 — is that it doesn’t ask assets to *become* private coins.
It simply gives them a **pathway** to move privately when they need to.
Not to disappear.
Just to *choose*.
# ZEN as an Optional Privacy Layer (Not a Replacement Chain)
The point isn’t to turn BTC, ETH, SOL, or stablecoins into “new identities.”
The point is:
**ZEN can give these assets a quiet lane next to the highway.**
A place where:
* positions can be adjusted,
* balances can be reorganized,
* strategies can be executed,
* business flows can be muted,
* sensitive transactions can be shielded,
and then all of it can come back to the main chain whenever needed.
Visibility becomes a *decision*, not a default.
# Stablecoins (USDT / USDC / USD1):
The Assets That Need Privacy the Most\*\*
Stablecoins are where most real financial flows happen:
* payrolls
* vendor payments
* cross-border transfers
* corporate treasury movements
And these flows are *currently fully public* on Ethereum.
With ZEN acting as a Base-native privacy app-chain, stablecoins can do something they can’t do today:
**move in and out of a privacy domain without changing their nature or breaking compliance.**
They’re still USDC.
Still USDT.
Still fully redeemable.
Just with a path that isn’t broadcast to the entire network.
# ETH: Public Money With a Private Workspace
ETH doesn’t need a new identity.
But ETH *does* benefit from having:
* private collateral management
* private liquidations
* private hedging
* private AMM activity
* private net-exposure syncing
ZEN can provide exactly that:
a silent, configurable layer where ETH-based activity can be reorganized before syncing back to public chains.
A workshop behind the storefront.
# SOL: The High-Speed Highway That Can Step Into the Quiet Path
Solana is fast, loud, liquid, and brightly lit.
But wrapped SOL (wSOL) on EVM can easily walk into ZEN’s privacy environment:
* for rebalancing
* for hedging
* for treasury moves
* for quiet accumulation or redistribution
Nothing about SOL’s public ecosystem changes.
ZEN just offers a parallel corridor — a dimmer, quieter one — when needed.
# BTC: The World’s Loudest Ledger, Now With a Soft-Shadow Option
Bitcoin’s transparency is part of its beauty.
But wrapped BTC (WBTC, tBTC, Babylon-based flows, etc.) can enter ZEN’s privacy layer without giving up the Bitcoin identity.
It’s still BTC.
Still trackable on the base layer.
Just temporarily processed through a zone where:
* strategies aren’t exposed,
* supplier payments aren’t traced by competitors,
* treasury flows aren’t mirrored by copy-traders.
It’s not hiding.
It’s just walking the small path next to the main avenue.
# Privacy as a Route — Not a Mask
Optional privacy isn’t about pretending.
It’s not about disappearing.
**It’s about controlling when you want to be visible,**
**and when you don’t.**
ZEN doesn’t ask assets to become something new.
It gives them an **alternate route**, a **parallel lane**, a **quiet path** that leads back to every major intersection:
* Base
* Ethereum
* bridges to Solana
* wrapped BTC rails
* stablecoin mint/burn pathways
It’s not rebellion.
It’s flexibility.
The same way every city has alleys, shortcuts, and tree-shaded paths —
blockchains need optional privacy lanes too.
And that’s the niche ZEN is finally in a position to fill.

**Source:**
**1/** October was one of Solana’s strongest months across the entire stack.
Institutional $SOL holdings surged, perps volumes set new highs, stablecoin supply hit $15B+, and Prop AMMs captured record market share.
Read the full report below ⬇️
[https://blog.syndica.io/deep-dive-solana-defi-october-2025/](https://blog.syndica.io/deep-dive-solana-defi-october-2025/)
https://preview.redd.it/jskhui6n2o3g1.png?width=680&format=png&auto=webp&s=bf4eda6c2414fcf5f987e5edaf391df646ea189e
**2/** Corporate holdings of [$SOL](https://x.com/search?q=%24SOL&src=cashtag_click) have crossed 15m.

[$SOL](https://x.com/search?q=%24SOL&src=cashtag_click) holdings by publicly listed firms hit 15.8M in October 2025, led by
[@FWDind](https://x.com/FWDind), [@Solana\_Company](https://x.com/Solana_Company), [@stsssol](https://x.com/stsssol), and [@defidevcorp](https://x.com/defidevcorp).
https://preview.redd.it/vp3ytnar2o3g1.png?width=679&format=png&auto=webp&s=47790a39ec709e76a245f78521aaf5ff7de1356f
**3/** 2.9% of [$SOL](https://x.com/search?q=%24SOL&src=cashtag_click) supply is owned by publicly listed companies.

A sharp rise from 0.8% to 2.9% of circulating supply shows accelerating institutional conviction in [@Solana](https://x.com/solana)’s ecosystem.
https://preview.redd.it/6nruap2t2o3g1.png?width=679&format=png&auto=webp&s=68a8d4a4a1dea6b3ba0da60ef29d76f4297a9ea0
**4/** [@Solana](https://x.com/solana) spot DEX volume continued its recovery in October.

Volumes have more than doubled since the low in June ’25, reaching $198B in October.
https://preview.redd.it/hgahu59v2o3g1.png?width=679&format=png&auto=webp&s=706c83a1daeeafe09ec456af484a378b3f2cdbca
**5/** Prop AMMs continued to increase their DEX market share.

Their share reached 37% in October, led by major contributions from
[@humidifi](https://x.com/humidifi) and [@SolFiAMM](https://x.com/SolFiAMM) v2.
https://preview.redd.it/p1os4aaz2o3g1.png?width=679&format=png&auto=webp&s=648ff3686afc24a31041ccb3649fd2bc30893671
**6/** Prop AMMs set a new ATH in DEX volumes.

Volumes surpassed $69B in October 2025, led by contributions from new players [@humidifi](https://x.com/humidifi) and [@tessera\_v](https://x.com/tessera_v), showing rapid adoption.
https://preview.redd.it/9i9pbda23o3g1.png?width=679&format=png&auto=webp&s=dd902f8739e4c1c576d11d56382a2fe07668be13
**7/** [@humidifi](https://x.com/humidifi) took the #1 spot in [@Solana](https://x.com/solana) DEX trading.

By combining institutional-grade execution with Solana’s high throughput, HumidiFi has captured over 20% of network DEX volume, reaching record monthly volumes in October.
https://preview.redd.it/5jumgp943o3g1.png?width=679&format=png&auto=webp&s=d52ba5d39ffd346cd32249330bb59e37d17f7cdb
**8/** Aggregator competition on [@Solana](https://x.com/solana) is accelerating.
Although [@JupiterExchange](https://x.com/JupiterExchange) remains the primary aggregator, emerging players, including [@okx](https://x.com/okx), [@dflow](https://x.com/dflow), and [@Titan\_Exchange](https://x.com/Titan_Exchange), show steady month-over-month participation.
https://preview.redd.it/4x2tjfo93o3g1.png?width=679&format=png&auto=webp&s=235d7dbb86dee7d3c119f244155b5ad72d4a05c2
**9/** [@Solana](https://x.com/solana) perps recorded their best monthly volume.

October reached $65.2B in perp volume, a 55% jump from September, highlighting accelerating demand across Solana’s derivatives ecosystem.
https://preview.redd.it/yezxbgub3o3g1.png?width=679&format=png&auto=webp&s=2480b5a075b89cb9bde7d2e0e99b4fabc4b88250
**10/** [@pacifica\_fi](https://x.com/pacifica_fi) overtook [@JupiterExchange](https://x.com/JupiterExchange) as the top [@Solana](https://x.com/solana) perps platform.

In October, Pacifica captured 45% of monthly perp volume, surpassing Jupiter, whose market share fell to 33%.
https://preview.redd.it/ski2pyxe3o3g1.png?width=679&format=png&auto=webp&s=3e6a414742b0e29ad3a5ec14d7021bf067ac6543
**11/** [$BTC](https://x.com/search?q=%24BTC&src=cashtag_click) on [u/Solana](https://x.com/solana) reached a new all-time high.

Total wrapped [$BTC](https://x.com/search?q=%24BTC&src=cashtag_click) supply reached \~8.5k in October, with growth led by
[@coinbase](https://x.com/coinbase)’s [$cbBTC](https://x.com/search?q=%24cbBTC&src=cashtag_click) alongside steady gains in [@wormhole](https://x.com/wormhole) [$WBTC](https://x.com/search?q=%24WBTC&src=cashtag_click).
https://preview.redd.it/qivg9alh3o3g1.png?width=679&format=png&auto=webp&s=54903e2e96724fedfe5ee7c4f0c33c9512d190a1
**12/** [@Solana](https://x.com/solana)’s LST market saw its first meaningful cool-off in months.

After consistent expansion, LST TVL slipped below the \~50M [$SOL](https://x.com/search?q=%24SOL&src=cashtag_click) mark, led by reductions in heavyweight tokens like [$jitoSOL](https://x.com/search?q=%24jitoSOL&src=cashtag_click), [$bnSOL](https://x.com/search?q=%24bnSOL&src=cashtag_click), and [$jupSOL](https://x.com/search?q=%24jupSOL&src=cashtag_click).
https://preview.redd.it/2r973lgk3o3g1.png?width=679&format=png&auto=webp&s=336f558ece3f7ea38a631ee899cb0f2931a595a6
**13/** Stablecoin supply on [@Solana](https://x.com/solana) reached an ATH amid high activity.
Stablecoin supply reached an ATH of $15.2B, led primarily by growth in supply of non [$USDC](https://x.com/search?q=%24USDC&src=cashtag_click) / [$USDT](https://x.com/search?q=%24USDT&src=cashtag_click) stablecoins especially [$PYUSD](https://x.com/search?q=%24PYUSD&src=cashtag_click), [$USDG](https://x.com/search?q=%24USDG&src=cashtag_click) and [$BUIDL](https://x.com/search?q=%24BUIDL&src=cashtag_click).
https://preview.redd.it/fic6njrm3o3g1.png?width=679&format=png&auto=webp&s=ae151f7e87f16beab9082b89cee0eb716cb779d0
**14/** [$PYUSD](https://x.com/search?q=%24PYUSD&src=cashtag_click) supply reached $1B on [u/Solana](https://x.com/solana).
[$PYUSD](https://x.com/search?q=%24PYUSD&src=cashtag_click) supply expanded dramatically, driven by protocol incentives and attractive yields across [@DriftProtocol](https://x.com/DriftProtocol), [@kamino](https://x.com/kamino), and leading DEXs.
https://preview.redd.it/2uh1tavp3o3g1.png?width=679&format=png&auto=webp&s=f53da41f7863eed9d3c8d9ec83b75e76d4dbd3d6