Coinbase Partners with Chainlink to Enable Seamless Transfer of $7 Billion in Wrapped Tokens

In a significant development, Coinbase has selected Chainlink's Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) as the sole bridge for its wrapped assets, effectively linking them to Chainlink's robust oracle networks. This strategic partnership enables the transfer of assets such as cbBTC, cbETH, cbDOGE, cbLTC, cbADA, and cbXRP, which collectively hold a market value of approximately $7 billion. These wrapped tokens represent assets held by Coinbase, facilitating the movement of exposure into other networks and applications that do not natively support the underlying coins. By leveraging these wrapped assets, users can access bitcoin, for instance, in the form of cbBTC, within the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem of multiple networks, including Base and Solana. The CCIP's decentralized design, which routes messages and value between chains through a set of nodes, aims to minimize operator risk, addressing a major pain point in the crypto industry. According to Josh Leavitt, senior director of product management at Coinbase, the company chose Chainlink due to its industry-leading position in cross-chain connectivity. William Reilly, head of strategic initiatives at Chainlink, noted that the partnership is intended to drive the growth of Coinbase's wrapped assets. This announcement closely follows the launch of a new bridge connecting Base, a layer-2 network built by Coinbase, and the Solana blockchain, which is also secured by Chainlink's CCIP.