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Citrea rolls out ctUSD stablecoin as native liquidity layer for Bitcoin ecosystem

source-logo  cryptobriefing.com 15 January 2026 20:37, UTC
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Key Takeaways

  • Citrea debuts ctUSD to address fragmented liquidity and bridge risk in the Bitcoin ecosystem, with native issuance and M0-powered infrastructure.
  • MoonPay handles compliant issuance, enabling ctUSD access across 160+ countries and integration with major payment methods.

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.

“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.”

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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.

Citrea also 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.

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

cryptobriefing.com