Citrea Launches ctUSD: Native Stablecoin for Bitcoin's Liquidity Layer

PermabullPete · 2026-01-15T21:20:48+00:00

Citrea has introduced ctUSD, a dollar-backed stablecoin for the Bitcoin ecosystem, ensuring compliance and reducing fragmentation. Backed by T-bills and cash, it aims to establish a secure liquidity layer without relying on third-party solutions.

PermabullPete

2026-01-15 21:20:48

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Source: CryptoBriefing Original Title: Citrea rolls out ctUSD stablecoin as native liquidity layer for Bitcoin ecosystem Original Link:

Overview

Citrea, a Bitcoin application layer, has launched ctUSD, a 1:1 dollar-backed stablecoin fully backed by T-bills and cash. Issued by MoonPay and powered by M0, ctUSD serves as Bitcoin’s native, compliant liquidity layer.

The launch addresses Bitcoin’s lack of unified, secure, and compliant stablecoin rails. Rather than relying on third-party bridges or fragmented tokens, ctUSD is issued natively on Citrea.

Key Features

Liquidity Formation

“Liquidity on Citrea is forming now,” said Orkun Kilic, CEO of Chainway Labs, the company behind Citrea. “With a native, compliant standard immediately, the ecosystem won’t fragment into dozens of incompatible, risky bridged tokens, creating systemic risk before the ecosystem even matures.”

Compliance & Distribution

MoonPay will handle issuance and redemption using its US Money Transmitter Licenses. The stablecoin will be available to users in over 160 countries through Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, and PayPal. Canada, the EEA, and New York are excluded.

Developer Tools & Integrations

Citrea rolled out developer tools including virtual bank accounts supported by Iron for fiat-to-ctUSD conversion via ACH and wire transfers. Integrations with Swaps.xyz and Helio enable non-custodial cross-chain swaps and merchant payment support.

Access Routes

Initial access routes include Ethereum-based stablecoin swaps, Citrea-native DEX pools, MoonPay onramps, and direct minting for large orders.

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ZKSherlock

· 2h ago

actually... another "fully backed" stablecoin? let me guess—we're supposed to just trust the T-bill claims without on-chain verification? the irony of building "trustless" systems on top of trust assumptions never gets old, ngl

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OPsychology

· 2h ago

The BTC ecosystem now has an additional stablecoin, but how will the actual liquidity look? To be honest, I'm a bit worried.

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MetaverseVagabond

· 2h ago

ctUSD is back to cut the leeks again. Can we really trust it this time just because it's backed by T-bills? There are already a bunch of stablecoins in the Bitcoin ecosystem.

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AllInAlice

· 2h ago

ctUSD is coming with another stablecoin? The Bitcoin ecosystem is trying to gather all stablecoins together... However, the T-bills backing is pretty good, more reliable than those purely speculative ones.

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