Renbridge
Active Bridges ↗
Frequently Asked Questions
Find detailed answers to common questions regarding the historical operations of Renbridge, the 2022 shutdown event, and active alternatives for bridging Bitcoin.
What was the purpose of Renbridge?
Renbridge was a cross-chain application designed by the Ren Protocol team to wrap native cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) into ERC-20 standard tokens (such as renBTC) on smart-contract platforms. This allowed users to generate yield in DeFi protocols using their Bitcoin capital.
Is Renbridge still working in 2026?
No, Renbridge is completely inactive. Following the bankruptcy of its primary funding partner, Alameda Research, the Ren developers officially decommissioned the RenVM network in December 2022. The dApp is kept online as an educational archive, but all bridging functions are permanently disabled.
What happened to the funds in the Renbridge vaults?
During the shutdown phase in late 2022, users were given a multi-week grace period to submit burn transactions and withdraw their native BTC. The RenVM vaults were cleared as users reclaimed their assets. Any wrapped renBTC tokens that were not burned before the network went offline are now permanently stuck, as the validator nodes no longer operate to sign release transactions.
How did renBTC compare to WBTC?
Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) is a centralized wrapping service where assets are held in trust by BitGo. In contrast, renBTC was a decentralized wrapper where assets were held in sMPC vaults secured by the independent Darknode network. While WBTC is currently active and has higher liquidity, renBTC was preferred by users seeking non-custodial custody.
What are the best active alternatives to Renbridge?
The leading decentralized alternative is tBTC by Threshold Network, which uses a decentralized network of nodes and random beacon cryptography to wrap BTC without custodians. For users who do not mind centralized custody, WBTC remains the most liquid option in the Ethereum DeFi ecosystem.