As bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies surged to new highs but remained volatile under the new White House administration, many investors began to pay more attention to them.

As of March 2025, 1 Wrapped Bitcoin is equivalent to $87,784.15. This figure marks significant growth over the past year — surpassing returns from stocks, bonds, real estate, and precious metals.

But what is Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC)? Here is a quick analysis:

  • This is the convertible version of bitcoin that can be used on the Ethereum-based platform and the growing network of decentralized applications on this platform.

  • The company currently has a market capitalization of $11.3 billion.

  • This currency has a trading volume of $209.6 million and a circulating supply of about 129,100.

If you invested $1,000 in it when it launched, what would its current value be? Keep the following in mind as you consider this cryptocurrency investment.

$1,000 Wrapped Bitcoin: Then and Now

Wrapped bitcoin first launched on January 31, 2019. On that day, the price of one bitcoin was around $3,460.

This means that $1,000 will buy you 0.289 Wrapped Bitcoin. Nowadays, that amount of bitcoin — whether wrapped or not — is worth about $25,270.

In other words, the price of bitcoin has increased by 2,537% since the end of January 2019. In comparison, the S&P 500 has risen about 120% during the same period.

What is Wrapped Bitcoin?

Wrapped Bitcoin is pegged to the value of bitcoin, but they use different underlying technology platforms.

Bitcoin uses its own blockchain technology to record transaction history. Many holders buy and hold it as a long-term store of value, rather than as a currency for trading. Blockchain technology makes it decentralized and secure — at least to the extent that wallets or cryptocurrency exchanges are secured.

Wrapped bitcoin is essentially a token on the Ethereum decentralized finance (DeFi) network. This makes it easy to buy, sell, and interact with other digital assets on the DeFi network, such as other cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The DeFi network encompasses an entire ecosystem for protocols like Dharma, MakerDAO, Compound, and Kyber Network.

Technically, WBTC is a "stablecoin," meaning a type of cryptocurrency backed by another currency. In this case, each WBTC is backed by an equivalent amount of bitcoin, held in trust by a custodian such as BitGo.

How Do I Buy WBTC?

Investors can buy Wrapped Bitcoin through decentralized exchanges like Coinbase or Binance.

Exchanges allow you to transfer money between fiat currencies like the US dollar and specific cryptocurrencies or exchange from one currency to another. Some cryptocurrency exchanges even allow you to buy cryptocurrency with a credit card — of course, with fees.

Just keep in mind that cryptocurrency exchanges are not as secure as traditional banks and the money you hold is not FDIC insured.

Finally, GO: Cryptocurrency in Your Investment Portfolio

Most investment experts recommend not holding more than 10% of your portfolio in cryptocurrency. They are an exciting speculative investment with the "play money" portion of your portfolio. However, their volatility makes them unreliable for long-term financial needs, such as retirement.

If you like the idea of investing in cryptocurrency but don't want to use a decentralized exchange, some licensed brokerage firms, like Robinhood and Fidelity, provide cryptocurrency trading platforms. Of course, this defeats the purpose of owning Wrapped Bitcoin: interacting with other digital assets on the Ethereum DeFi network.