What is Wrapped Bitcoin WBTC? I have read on twitter that WBTC has solved bitcoin scaling issues. Is it true? I want to know more about WBTC
Disclaimer: I worked at BitGo when WBTC was kicked off, but I didn't work on the WBTC project.
Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) is an ERC20 token fully backed by bitcoins held in BitGo's custody. BitGo mints new WBTC when bitcoins are deposited into custody and WBTC is burned when bitcoins are withdrawn from custody. WBTC is a means to get an IOU for hard money into the ETH ecosystem.
As a &quot;scaling solution&quot;, it fits somewhere between a sidechain and payments between two user accounts on a custodial service:

There is no &quot;BTC on ETH&quot;, all bitcoins are held by BitGo (or other custodian if another gets added). WBTC is a promissory note for the assets held by BitGo.
Payments using WBTC do not interact with the Bitcoin blockchain, they happen on the ETH network
WBTC can be freely sent and received on ETH
The WBTC token cannot be trustlessly redeemed for bitcoin, entering and exiting WBTC requires actions by BitGo

As ETH is still figuring out its monetary policy, the ETH ecosystem lacks a hard money. WBTC is frequently used to represent Bitcoin's value in the ETH ecosystem. Under the assumption that WBTC is a faithful representation of Bitcoin balances and since WBTC payments do not consume Bitcoin on-chain resources, one could consider them a scaling technique. Representing WBTC as &quot;the scaling solution&quot; for Bitcoin is a silly misrepresentation.