Wrapped vs native crypto: WBTC, BTCB and WETH explained

Short answer: Bitcoin (BTC) is the coin of the Bitcoin blockchain. Wrapped bitcoin is a token on another chain that stands for BTC one to one, such as WBTC on Ethereum or BTCB, the Binance-Peg token on BNB Smart Chain. An issuer holds the real bitcoin and promises to redeem the token. The token follows BTC's price, but it lives at a 0x address, cannot go to a Bitcoin address and adds the issuer's risk. WETH, WBNB and WSOL are different: a contract on the same chain holds the coin, and anyone can unwrap it.

Native, wrapped, bridged and pegged: four words, four different things

Wallets and exchanges use these words loosely. Here is what each one means.

• Native: the coin a blockchain issues itself and pays its fees with: BTC on Bitcoin, ETH on Ethereum, BNB on BNB Smart Chain, SOL on Solana. No issuer stands in between, and there is no token contract.
• Wrapped: a token that represents another asset one to one and can be turned back into it. Either a custodian holds the asset behind it (WBTC, BTCB), or a smart contract on the same chain does (WETH, WBNB, WSOL).
• Bridged: a token minted by a bridge when the original is locked on another chain, so its backing depends on the bridge's code and signers. WETH on Polygon is one: Polygon's documentation maps it to ETH on Ethereum and names it PoS-WETH.
• Pegged: a promise about value, not a mechanism. Binance describes BTCB as wrapped (pegged) 1:1 to BTC locked on the Bitcoin blockchain; a stablecoin is pegged to the dollar in the same sense.

What matters is who holds the original asset and which network the token lives on. It is the same lesson as with stablecoins: USDT on Tron and USDT on Ethereum are separate assets that you convert between networks, not send across.

How custodial wraps are backed: WBTC, BTCB and Binance-Peg ETH

A custodial wrap works like a warehouse receipt. The coin is deposited with an issuer, who mints the same amount of tokens on another chain and releases the coin when tokens are burned. The token contract cannot see the reserve on the other blockchain, so everything rests on the issuer.

WBTC

According to the WBTC site, every WBTC is backed 1:1 by bitcoin in custody, and only identity-verified institutions approved through the WBTC DAO, called merchants, can mint and burn it. Its transparency page lists the reserve's Bitcoin addresses next to the token supply, plus the WBTC contract on each chain. An ordinary holder cannot burn WBTC directly, so the usual way back to BTC is to sell it.

Custody has also changed. In August 2024 BitGo moved WBTC to a joint venture with BiT Global, spreading custody across jurisdictions including Hong Kong and Singapore; before that, the bitcoin was held in the United States. In 2026 the WBTC network announced the next phase, due to complete on 1 May 2026: BiT Global, as custodian, holds two of the three multisig keys, in Hong Kong and Singapore, and BitGo keeps one in the United States. A holder of a custodial wrap has to follow news like that.

BTCB and Binance-Peg ETH

On BNB Smart Chain, "Bitcoin" and "Ethereum" are usually Binance-Peg tokens. Binance's 2020 BTCB announcement says the BTCB supply equals the BTC locked in a public address, that BTCB can be redeemed for that BTC, and that a proof page shows both amounts. The Ethereum version works the same way, and its contract even reports the ticker ETH, identical to the native coin's.

Two details show where the trust sits. When we queried both contracts on 30 September 2026, each had an owner address that alone can call its mint function. And in January 2023 Binance wrote that collateral for these tokens had sometimes sat in cold wallets not known to the public, or had not been moved quickly enough to the right wallets. Binance said the tokens are fully backed; part of that backing simply could not be checked from outside.

Contract wraps of a chain's own coin: WETH, WBNB and WSOL

The second kind of wrap has no custodian. It exists because a chain's native coin does not follow that chain's token standard, and many applications only handle tokens. As ethereum.org explains, ETH predates ERC-20, so wrapped ether lets it act as an ERC-20 token. A contract takes ETH in and mints the same amount of WETH, and burning WETH pays the ETH back. The ETH stays in the contract, visible on the same chain.

• WETH on Ethereum is that contract. Arbitrum One and Base run their own versions over the ETH that pays gas there; on OP Stack networks such as Base it is a predeployed contract.
• WETH on Polygon is the exception. Polygon's own coin is POL, so its WETH is ETH bridged from Ethereum, not a wrap of the local coin.
• WBNB does for BNB what WETH does for ETH: the BNB Chain blog describes a contract that takes BNB 1:1 and pays it back on withdrawal. Unlike BTCB, its contract has no owner who can mint.
• WSOL works differently. In the Solana token program, wrapped SOL is SOL held in a token account for the native mint, and closing that account returns the SOL to an address you choose.

Unwrapping costs only a network fee, so it is cheaper to unwrap WETH, WBNB or WSOL in your own wallet than to pay a swap fee for the native coin.

How to tell them apart: network, contract address and look-alike tickers

A ticker tells you almost nothing. On BNB Smart Chain alone, two different tokens stand for bitcoin: BTCB, and WBTC, whose transparency page lists a separate contract there. Scam tokens can copy either name. Three checks settle it.

1. Network first. "Bitcoin · BNB Smart Chain" or a BEP20 badge means a token on BNB Smart Chain, whatever the name says. On an exchange it is the network you pick in the withdrawal menu, and some exchanges offer BNB Smart Chain (BEP20) for BTC and ETH.
2. Contract address second. A native coin has no contract; a token always has one, 0x… on EVM chains or a mint address on Solana. Compare it in full with the issuer's own page, not with a search result or a list someone sent you.
3. Origin last. A token you never bought that turns up in your wallet is a reason to stop, not to swap. Anyone can deploy a token called WETH, and ethereum.org advises checking which WETH implementation you are using. The same attackers plant look-alike addresses too; see address poisoning.

The Ghostex order page names the asset and the network, not a contract, so this check happens in your own wallet before you send.

The costly mix-ups, and which address each version needs

Every EVM network uses the same 0x address format, so an address cannot tell BTCB on BNB Smart Chain from ETH on Ethereum. The network and the asset you pick decide what arrives.

The wrong version on a payout. Pick Bitcoin on BNB Smart Chain as the coin you receive, paste a bc1 address, and the Ghostex form flags it as a Bitcoin address and asks for one on BNB Smart Chain. The fix is to switch the receive side to Bitcoin, not to go looking for a 0x address.

A token at your own 0x address is not lost. BTCB paid to a 0x address whose key you hold is still yours: the key works on every EVM network, so switch the wallet to BNB Smart Chain and add the token. The costly case is a token landing where nobody can use it on that network, such as an exchange deposit address that does not support it. Who can act then is covered in sent to the wrong network; the same rules apply to any token.

The look-alike as a deposit. WETH sent to an order for ETH is another asset, even at the same 0x address; so is WSOL sent to a SOL order, or WBNB to a BNB order. Under the Ghostex Terms, section 9, a different asset or network may be unrecoverable, and section 12 excludes it from automatic refunds.

Native or wrapped on a Ghostex swap: reading the asset list and pair pages

Ghostex lists each wrapped version as its own asset, with its own network and code. On the supported assets page, the Wrapped filter shows five cards:

• Bitcoin, with three networks. Bitcoin (code BTC) is the coin on its own chain, BNB Smart Chain (code BTCBSC) is the BEP20 token, and Lightning Network pays BTC over Lightning and is receive-only.
• Ethereum, where BNB Smart Chain (code ETHBSC) is the wrapped option. Ethereum, Arbitrum One, Base, Optimism and zkSync Era are the ETH each network uses for gas.
• Wrapped Ether on Ethereum, Arbitrum One, Base and Polygon, Wrapped BNB and Wrapped SOL.

WBTC is not listed, so it cannot fill any Ghostex order. In the swap form's picker, plain Bitcoin and plain Ethereum are the coins on their own chains, while Bitcoin · BNB Smart Chain and Ethereum · BNB Smart Chain carry a BEP20 badge. Confirmations follow the network, not the ticker: Ghostex waits for 2 on Bitcoin, 12 on Ethereum, 15 on BNB Smart Chain and 32 on Solana.

Pair pages pay native coins. SOL to BTC pays bitcoin on the Bitcoin network or over Lightning, never a token on Solana. ETH to SOL pays native SOL rather than WSOL, and ETH to BNB pays BNB on BNB Smart Chain rather than WBNB. On the deposit side, BNB to XMR covers the BNB look-alikes: opBNB, WBNB and the retired BEP2 version.

To turn BTCB into bitcoin, swap Bitcoin on BNB Smart Chain for Bitcoin: paste a bc1, 1 or 3 address and send the BTCB from BNB Smart Chain. There is no account and no KYC. The flat 0.48% fee is already in the quote, and Ghostex covers the network fee on the bitcoin payout. A typical swap takes 5 to 30 minutes. If it cannot complete, the BTCB goes back automatically to your refund address or the address you paid from, minus the network cost.

The extra risks a wrapped asset carries

A native coin carries its own blockchain's risks. A wrapped one adds at least one more layer.

• Custodian risk. The token is only as good as the reserve and the promise to redeem, and its contract cannot check the reserve. Redemption may be limited to merchants, as with WBTC, or to the issuer's own platform, as with BTCB. Custody can change, as WBTC's did in 2024.
• Issuer control. Where a contract has an owner that can mint, as BTCB and Binance-Peg ETH do, the supply depends on that key being used only against real deposits.
• Bridge risk. A bridge that mints against coins locked elsewhere can be tricked into minting without the lock. In February 2022 an attacker bypassed the Wormhole bridge's signature checks and minted 120,000 wETH on Solana with no ETH deposited behind them. The bridge was restored only after it secured enough ETH to back its wrapped ETH 1:1 again.
• Depeg risk. A wrapped token has a redemption value and a market price. When redemption is slow, restricted or in doubt, the price can drift from the original's, and a holder who needs out sells at the market price.

Contract wraps add the least. ethereum.org calls WETH a simple, battle-tested contract, and WBNB follows the same pattern; the practical danger there is a fake token with the same name. If you only want to hold bitcoin, hold BTC on Bitcoin. Wrapped versions earn their place when you need the asset inside another chain's applications.

Wrapped crypto questions

Is wrapped bitcoin the same as bitcoin?

No. It tracks BTC's price, but it is a token on another chain, backed by bitcoin that a custodian holds. It cannot be sent to a Bitcoin address, and it adds the custodian's risk to bitcoin's own.

Is BTCB the same as WBTC?

No. BTCB is Binance's pegged token on BNB Smart Chain, backed by BTC that Binance holds. WBTC has its own merchants, custody and contracts, including a separate one on BNB Smart Chain. The two are not interchangeable.

Can I send BTCB to a Bitcoin address?

No. BTCB is a token on BNB Smart Chain, where Bitcoin addresses do not exist. Redeem it or swap it for BTC first, then send the BTC to your bc1, 1 or 3 address.

What is the difference between WETH and ETH?

ETH is Ethereum's native coin. WETH is an ERC-20 token backed by ETH held in a smart contract, and it can be unwrapped back to ETH for a gas fee. An order for ETH takes native ETH only.

Does Ghostex accept WBTC?

No. Ghostex does not list WBTC. For bitcoin it lists BTC on Bitcoin, BTC over Lightning (receive-only) and BTC on BNB Smart Chain.