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Glossary Term

Wrapped Token

A token representing another asset on a foreign chain — like WBTC, Bitcoin's passport to Ethereum — with custodian risk included.

A wrapped token is a 1:1 representation of an asset on a chain it doesn’t natively live on: lock the original with a custodian or bridge contract, mint the wrapper. Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) lets BTC earn and trade inside Ethereum DeFi; wrapped ETH (WETH) is a technicality making ETH conform to ERC-20.

The wrapper inherits the backing’s trust model — custodian solvency and honesty, or bridge contract security — layered on top of the asset itself. Bridge hacks have turned wrappers into instant bad debt before. Always know the redemption path: a wrapped token you can’t trace to its collateral is an IOU with good branding.

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