The integration comes as other Bitcoin wrappers face scrutiny for custody practices.
21.co, the parent company of cryptocurrency asset manager 21Shares, announced on Sept. 23 that it is adding Chainlink’s proof of reserve to 21BTC to address potential concerns about the Bitcoin (BTC) wrapper’s backing.
Integrating proof of reserves into 21BTC on Ethereum and Solana “protects against malicious minting by embedding cryptographic guarantees that new tokens minted are backed by reserves,” 21.co said.
The announcement follows a wave of skepticism among cryptocurrency retail investors about the safety of the underlying spot BTC backing Bitcoin wrappers including Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) and Coinbase Wrapped BTC (cbBTC).