A Letter For WBTC Custodians (Old & New) When we started WBTC a few years ago, we worked with Bitgo as a partner because we think it’s crucial for the Bitcoin to be under custody by a partner who’s as committed to the job of custody as possible, and nothing else. We turned down other big name potential partners for that purpose. It has worked spectacularly well so far - gaining slow but sure traction initially, and over time passing the lindy test throughly, surving many fud cycles, and getting widespread adoption as the defacto BTC token on all chains, even as a double wrapped one on Solana. I believe that the reason for the longevity is clarity of custody, simplicity of technology, and proof of reserves innovation (back then). I also wrote about these reasons here during peak wbtc fud: x.com/weremeow/status/159655… Most importantly tho, was the implicit understanding that UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should be underlying Bitcoin be used in anyways. I’m not going to make a judgement towards @BitGo, certainly they have been incredible custodians so far, and I trust that they have the best intentions at mind. Plus of course I know at a very deep level how it feels to be judged by CT 😂😂 At the same time, I think is crucial for WBTC, the entire defi ecosystem and for bitgo/bitg to immediately clarify a few things: 1) Who exactly is part of the multisig that holds the BTC? 2) Will the BTC ever be used for any purpose? 3) What’s the upside for either party, is it for TRON adoption of WBTC? If so, surely there is no need to acquire the entire setup. 4) How exactly does going multi jurisdiction help? 5) Is it possible to get a very respected independent party to be in the multisigning group to act as both communication and signer? For 5, we would be happy to pay for their time in participating, signing and communication, its that important for us. I personally really want to understand Bitgo perspective, and would be happy to host a space between my fellow WBTC founders (@loi_luu @bencxr and Yaron, Bitgo rep (maybe @mikebelshe) and someone from the new parties involved (@justinsuntron or anyone with full understanding of the situation) I believe this conversation is really important. Without explicitly making certain CAT (certainty, alignment and transparency) principles, it can be really hard for the community to accept, and you run the risk of a major bank run wheneve fud happen. Just like many many ours, i largely keep WBTC instead of BTC for DeFi purposes, and practically all major DEFI platforms rely on it too, so please keep us in mind as well Of course we need a decentralized champion soon, but that transition will not happen so fast as well, and I personally think rushing towards an alternative is likely worse. The best possible case is for the new JV to carry on with same ethos (or even improve in terms of communications). I hope we give assurance to the community, or let us at least understand it. WBTC is not yours one, it is also all our effort, faith and soul we worked super hard for. Why is it also ours? If anything happens, this JV can just close down and wipe your ass, but the whole ecosystem suffer tremendously. Last but not least, on a personal note, we started WBTC in 2018 with absolutely zero personal gain, but cause we want to help the entire defi ecosystem. And I’m extremely happy about that. Let’s really, really not make me and everyone super sad. Love, 🐱