Citrea Launches Mainnet - Enabling Bitcoin to Be Used for Lending, Trading, and USD Settlement

Founders Fund-backed Bitcoin platform, Citrea, unveils  Bitcoin-secured application platform, unlocking institutional and worldwide access to Bitcoin-denominated markets

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands, Jan. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Citrea, the Bitcoin application platform backed by Founders Fund and Galaxy Ventures, announced the launch of its mainnet, enabling capital market activity directly on the Bitcoin network. Citrea also has gone live with ctUSD, its U.S dollar-denominated stablecoin issued by MoonPay and powered by M0, designed to align with the forthcoming GENIUS Act guidelines. Together, the Citrea mainnet and ctUSD provide an institutional-grade USD settlement and liquidity layer for Bitcoin-based financial activity.

Despite Bitcoin's roughly $1.3 trillion market capitalization, on-chain data shows that more than 61 per cent of BTC, has not moved in over a year, highlighting the scale of capital that remains economically idle due to the lack of native application infrastructure.

"Bitcoin is the world's largest digital asset, yet its role in financial markets has been largely constrained. As demand for Bitcoin exposure grows, much of that activity remains off-chain, relying on intermediaries," said Orkun Kilic, co-founder and CEO of Chainway Labs, the company building Citrea. "By bringing Bitcoin-secured financial applications on-chain, the Citrea mainnet enables capital to be deployed, managed, and settled directly within Bitcoin-native markets. Native settlement through ctUSD provides the bridge to fiat systems, supporting use cases such as BTC-backed lending and institutional credit."

Citrea developed its lending infrastructure in collaboration with leading DeFi participants, including Morpho and UltraYield by Edge Capital. Citrea's native offerings will leverage on-chain and off-chain strategies from premier digital asset institutions like Keyrock to deliver safe, transparent, BTC yields.

"Citrea is addressing a huge market opportunity in helping to make Bitcoin truly programmable, a feature the asset has historically lacked in a scalable way," said Bridget Harris, Associate at Founders Fund. "In building both developer-focused and user-facing products which leverage Bitcoin's security, Citrea fundamentally scales the Bitcoin economy as a whole."

"Citrea enables deeper, more native engagement with BTC by bringing capital markets, stablecoin liquidity, and application infrastructure directly onto Bitcoin," said Will Nuelle, General Partner of Galaxy Ventures. "By making Bitcoin a more active financial asset, Citrea strengthens its role within global financial systems and expands the ways institutions and users can securely build on top of the network."

Citrea's approach has meaningful implications for long-term demand, miner incentives, and how institutions engage with Bitcoin. Citrea enables institutions to pursue more capital-efficient strategies with greater control and flexibility than off-chain venues. As block subsidies decline over time, Citrea aligns network security with real economic usage. 

The Citrea mainnet and ctUSD are now live. Learn more at citrea.xyz

About Citrea  

Citrea is the Bitcoin application layer, enabling institutions and users to access Bitcoin capital markets. The platform aims to expand Bitcoin's financial utility while remaining anchored to the network's security model. Citrea is backed by investors including Founders Fund, Galaxy, Maven 11, Delphi Digital, Erik Voorhees, Balaji Srinivasan and more. 

 

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Citrea Launches Mainnet - Enabling Bitcoin to Be Used for Lending, Trading, and USD Settlement

BEIJING, April 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- In China, traditional festivals such as the Spring Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival are days to celebrate reunion.

While Chinese people return home for family gatherings during such holidays, some overseas Chinese and foreigners in China find it captivating to savor a cup of baijiu to experience the oriental essence.

Among their diverse choices, Fenjiu, a light-flavor Chinese baijiu, was one of the optimal choices that conquered the taste buds of many and gained more popularity abroad this February.

In Canada, a spring temple fair for overseas Chinese from north China's Shanxi Province where Fenjiu Group, the producer of Fenjiu, is situated, was thronged by visitors eager to taste Qinghua Fenjiu, Rose Fenjiu and other Fenjiu products with refreshing aroma, refined flavors and smooth texture.

In Australia, a celebration of the Year of the Horse in Chinatown of Melbourne presented the Fenjiu special Panama edition and 30-year-old Qinghua Fenjiu with upscale black and gold packaging to overseas Chinese there and captured their hearts.

Elsewhere in the Chinese food restaurants in Paris of France and streets of Madrid in Spain, Fenjiu products are always spotted on tables of overseas Chinese during the holidays.

In Greece and the UAE, similar venues or events akin to the above-mentioned ones welcomed more foreigners to experience the traditional Chinese holiday while enjoying a cup of the distinguished Chinese baijiu.

In Chinese cities, an increasing number of foreigners had opted in February for a China travel to feel the warmth and charm of the Spring Festival when celebrating the festival in China is evolving into a new global fashion.

Already collected in Kremlin Museum in Moscow, Qinghua Fenjiu, a premium Fenjiu product, is showing how foreign friends have understood the oriental brewing wisdom and cultural inclusiveness.

Original link: https://en.imsilkroad.com/p/350006.html

 

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Xinhua Silk Road: Savor a cup of Fenjiu to cheer for reunion