New development in Bitcoin application layer: Citrea launches native USD stablecoin to create a unified settlement infrastructure

GasWrangler · 2026-01-21T02:02:13+00:00

The USD stablecoin ctUSD launched by Bitcoin application layer project Citrea, issued by MoonPay, is backed by US short-term Treasury bonds and cash, addressing the lack of a unified yield mechanism and transaction settlement infrastructure in the Bitcoin market. The launch of ctUSD helps to bring financial activities back on-chain and complies with regulatory requirements, being approved for use in the United States and multiple other countries.

GasWrangler

2026-01-21 02:02:13

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【CoinDesk】Supported by top venture capital firms Founders Fund and Galaxy Ventures, the Bitcoin application layer project Citrea has recently launched a native USD stablecoin, ctUSD. This stablecoin is issued by MoonPay, with technical support from M0, fully backed by U.S. short-term Treasury bonds and cash, ensuring a high level of compliance.

Why is this worth paying attention to? The current issue is that, although Bitcoin’s market capitalization has surpassed $1 trillion, a large amount of capital remains in a “lying flat” state—lacking native yield mechanisms and transaction settlement infrastructure. Currently, most Bitcoin financial activities rely on cross-chain bridges or externally issued stablecoins, which can lead to liquidity fragmentation and increased risks.

The core problem ctUSD aims to solve is: providing a unified USD settlement layer for the Bitcoin market. This way, BTC-backed lending, trading, and settlement can all be done directly on the Bitcoin chain, eliminating the need for bridging tokens. From an infrastructure perspective, this truly brings financial activities back on-chain instead of outsourcing them.

Another highlight is regulatory friendliness. ctUSD complies with the regulatory guidelines of the GENIUS Act and has been approved for use in the United States (excluding New York) and over 160 other countries. From a compliance standpoint, this gives the project considerable potential.

BTC-2,17%

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ApyWhisperer

· 5h ago

Another new stablecoin project. Will it truly solve the problem of liquidity fragmentation this time? I'm a bit skeptical. --- MoonPay endorsement + US debt support, it seems quite reliable, but what is missing in the BTC ecosystem? --- Lying flat capital is finally about to move. The infrastructure supporting BTC is truly lagging. --- Basically, they want to create USDT on BTC, the key is whether they can gain market acceptance. --- US debt backing sounds good, but I wonder if it will be regulated to death. --- ctUSD? Here we go again. Will it become just an accessory to the big pancake this time? --- Fragmentation is indeed a pain point, but can a new stablecoin really fix it? I don't feel so optimistic. --- A unified settlement layer sounds impressive, but will more people actually use it? Or is it just another conceptual project?

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potentially_notable

· 5h ago

Selling plans again, can it really unify the settlement layer? I think it's a gamble. Cross-chain bridging has so many pitfalls; avoiding a crash this time would be good enough.

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GweiTooHigh

· 5h ago

Another stablecoin? There are already enough stablecoins in the BTC ecosystem, but the key is who is really using them...

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HypotheticalLiquidator

· 5h ago

It looks like another "unified settlement" story... but I want to ask, can this truly solve the problem of fragmented liquidity this time, or is it just piling up risks again? Short-term government bonds sound stable when backed, but once market sentiment reverses, can the liquidation price hold up?

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MeaninglessApe

· 5h ago

Another story of "Unified Settlement" sounds good, but I don't know how long it can last.

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