KETJU Research

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stable-lending

BTCFi CDP

Rejected
Max sleeve
Reviewed
2026-08-16 · v1
Next review
2026-11-15
Chains
Bitcoin · sovereign, Base · hybrid

Rejected venues wait the longest for re-review; a rejection has to earn another look before the scheduled date.

BTCFi is a cross-network CDP system in which BTC-family collateral supports BtcUSD debt. Current documentation permits minting up to 50% of collateral value at a stated 5.5% loan rate and warns of liquidation; repayment is required before collateral withdrawal. DefiLlama measured $6.62M across Bitcoin, Bifrost Network, Base and CORE on 2026-08-16, not the former $67,000 Base-only snapshot. That is still 6.62% of the $100M floor, so the version-1 below-materiality dossier rejects before cross-chain custody, oracle, liquidation and BtcUSD liquidity could support an advised allocation.

The research file

Mechanism and product perimeter

BTCFi accepts BTC-family assets from multiple networks, records collateral through its Bifrost-powered cross-chain system and lets a user mint BtcUSD. Official instructions cap minting at 50% of collateral value and state a 5.5% loan interest rate. This record covers the CDP collateral and BtcUSD debt claim; optional BiFi deposits and Everdex LP positions are downstream products and are not treated as the same exposure.

Control and loss applicability

A borrower inherits Bitcoin-wrapper or native-BTC custody, cross-chain messaging, Bifrost contracts, collateral valuation, stablecoin peg and liquidation risks. The documentation warns that reaching the liquidation threshold can liquidate collateral but does not provide, in the reviewed pages, a complete current oracle, keeper, administrator, insurance, bad-debt or incident map for every supported network. The claim of decentralization is not substituted for those controls.

Current accounting and exit

DefiLlama reported $6,621,428 on 2026-08-16: most on Bitcoin and Bifrost Network, about $72,215 on Base and a residual balance on CORE. The API metric is collateral TVL, not BtcUSD market depth or immediately redeemable cash. A borrower must acquire and repay BtcUSD plus interest, complete the cross-chain release path and then transfer or unwrap BTC; downstream LP or lending positions add their own exit steps.

Comparison and measurable reopening test

Unlike a same-chain Maker-style vault, BTCFi adds Bitcoin and Bifrost cross-network settlement; unlike holding BTC directly, the client introduces debt, stablecoin and liquidation dependencies. Size alone remains decisive at 6.62% of the floor. Reopen after collateral TVL exceeds $100M for 30 days, then reconcile exact contracts, custody, messages, oracles, authorities, liquidation and bad-debt history, BtcUSD supply and liquidity, and a proposed-size repay-to-BTC exit.

Sources

The claims above trace to these. Where a number could not be independently verified, the thesis says so.

Inherited controls

The verdict above grades the protocol layer. Every position also inherits the asset it holds and the chain it settles on. The least safe layer sets the position’s grade, and the position table names which one that is.

ChainVerdictGradeControl constraint
BitcoinApproved sovereign no issuer, sequencer, or upgrade key controls native Bitcoin; the standing control risk is mining-pool concentration, not an administrative backdoor.
BaseApproved · limits hybrid Coinbase — one regulated US company — operates the only sequencer, and admin keys can upgrade bridge contracts within ~7 days.
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