Circle推出面向机构用户的比特币支持USDC贷款

Stability coin issuer Circle deepens regulated crypto lending business and launches institutional dedicated bitcoin mortgage lending service

Stability coin issuer Circle is further expanding its business into regulated crypto lending through its Circle Mint platform. The new service, called Digital Asset-Backed Borrowing, is designed specifically for institutional investors. Eligible customers can deposit Bitcoin on the platform, use Circle-issued packaging token cirBTC as collateral, and lend USDC through a supported decentralized financial (DeFi) lending market.

Circle said the launch of the service is consistent with the broader infrastructure of its Arc network. The Arc network is positioned as a Layer 1 blockchain based on stablecoin payments and financial services. This new borrowing service provides Bitcoin holders with a new way to gain USDC liquidity without transferring custody of underlying assets directly to the lending venue.

Core Points

• Service Objects and Features: Circle's new service allows eligible Circle Mint customers to use Bitcoin as collateral to lend USDC on supported DeFi lending protocols.
• Mortgage mechanism: The borrowing process uses cirBTC as a mortgage token. Circle claims that cirBTC is fully backed by Bitcoin held by Circle National Trust on a 1:1 ratio.
• Terms framers: Terms such as borrowing rates, mortgage requirements and clearing thresholds are determined by the third-party lending market, not Circle.
• 初始合作对象： Circle计划首先支持Morpho协议，随后再增加对Aave及其他协议的支持。
• 地域限制： 纽约州的客户被排除在此次服务范围之外。

Circle比特币抵押借款的工作原理

Circle的公告详细阐述了一种旨在面向机构用户的“托管感知”结构。在“数字资产抵押借款”模式下，符合条件的Circle Mint客户可以存入比特币并铸造cirBTC（Circle的包装比特币代币）。随后，这些cirBTC将被作为抵押品提供给受支持的第三方借贷市场。

Circle指出，借出的USDC将直接计入客户的Circle Mint账户余额中。客户可以根据需要使用这些USDC，而抵押品的存放和清算机制则由所使用的具体借贷协议 govern（管理/控制）。

重要的是，Circle将其定位为一种将客户对抵押品的控制权置于前台的模式。公司表示，抵押品是通过客户控制的钱包提供给第三方DeFi协议的，而不是由Circle直接放贷。Circle还将这种安排描述为“超额抵押”，即借款人必须提供的抵押品价值高于所借USDC的金额。

Circle还强调，影响头寸的参数——如借款利率、所需抵押品和清算阈值——由第三方借贷市场设定。这种设计将日常风险和机制转移到底层DeFi场所，而Circle则专注于资格审核、包装过程以及机构入口的建设。

初期支持Morpho，后续计划扩展至Aave

在首次发布时，Circle选择Morpho作为cirBTC抵押借款的第一个借贷协议。Circle表示，计划在未来扩大对Aave及其他借贷市场的支持。

此外，对于关注Arc生态系统用户而言，时机至关重要。该服务的发布恰逢cirBTC在Arc网络上上线。据Circle称，cirBTC于6月在以太坊上推出，目前其网络可用性正在扩展。

Circle确认，其意图将这些机构借款流连接到更广泛的Arc环境中。这种方法可能会降低那些倾向于在单一链生态系统中使用USDC作为结算和支付资产的参与者的摩擦成本。

为何该结构对机构至关重要

Circle的模式反映了加密市场中机构投资者的持续需求：在不破坏现有托管安排的前提下，获得借款和类似杠杆的流动性策略。通过使用由Circle National Trust托管的比特币按1:1支持的cirBTC，Circle提供了一条通往链上信用的路径，同时在发行方一侧保持了清晰的托管链和代币支持关系。

This is in sharp contrast to some earlier institutional designs that aimed to retain underlying Bitcoin custody without packaging. Another model has previously been reported in the market. For example, Lombard and Bitwise collaborated to develop a system that uses the lending infrastructure provided by Morpho to borrow against BTC in custody. Reports at the time pointed out that the model was designed to avoid converting the underlying bitcoin into a separate packaging asset, but instead chose to keep bitcoin in custody without using packaging or bridging.

Circle's decision to introduce cirBTC suggests a different trade-off: wrapping tokens makes it easier to integrate into existing lending markets that support ERC asset collateralization, while Circle can still specify specific support mechanisms for cirBTC.

From a more macro perspective, this development is in line with the trend of a class of institution-oriented lending platforms that emphasize "qualified custody" and control of collateral rather than unrestricted asset movement. Previously, Anchorage Digital partnered with Kaminu to allow institutions to borrow with pledged Solana deposited with Anchorage Digital Bank as collateral, avoiding the requirement to directly move collateral out of qualified custody. At the same time, BitGo has also expanded its institutional lending efforts through a portfolio framework, allowing multiple assets to serve as collateral, depending on the financing structure.

In this context, Circle's product is best understood as an additional layer of the institutional lending stack-it combines issuer backed mortgage tokens, institutional balance interfaces provided through Circle Mint, and DeFi lending mechanisms implemented on third-party agreements.

Arc主网发布时间表与以USDC为中心的路线图

该借款服务是在Circle刚刚推出Arc主网几天后发布的。Arc是一个围绕稳定币支付和金融市场用例设计的Layer 1网络。据早期报道，Circle对Arc的定位包括将USDC作为原生Gas代币，并支持BlackRock的BUIDL和Circle的USYC等代币化资产。

这种时间序列很重要，因为它表明Circle正在对齐其业务的两个不同部分：传输层（Arc）和金融层（稳定币发行、代币化以及现在的机构借贷）。对于投资者和开发者而言，这也提出了关于抵押品和流动性将在何处集中的实际问题——用户是将继续主要依赖以太坊进行DeFi借款，还是Arc的稳定币原生设计从一开始就会吸引活动？

与此同时，用户体验和风险的最大决定因素仍然锚定在设定借款利率和清算参数的第三方借贷市场上。这意味着，最终用户的实际影响可能会根据Morpho（以及后来的Aave等）如何为cirBTC构建抵押品因子和清算阈值而迅速变化。

未来观察重点

Circle的下一个里程碑——包括增加对Aave的支持并扩展借贷场所阵容，以及观察cirBTC在Arc与以太坊上的使用情况发展——将揭示这是否仅仅是一个增量产品发布，还是迈向更标准化、发行人协调的机构借款工作流程的一步。目前，机构参与者应密切关注特定协议的借款条款、清算行为以及资格要求，包括对纽约客户的排除。