Bitcoin News Today: Hedera's Conflict-Free DeFi Attracts $113M Bitcoin Liquidity

Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), the largest tokenized version of Bitcoin, has expanded to the Hedera network, marking a significant step in integrating Bitcoin into decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystems. The move, announced on November 13, 2025, brings additional liquidity to Hedera, a blockchain platform known for its low transaction fees and institutional-grade infrastructure according to Cointelegraph. The integration is supported by BitGo, a Hedera Council member and WBTC custodian, alongside BiT Global and LayerZero, an interoperability provider according to PR Newswire.

WBTC allows Bitcoin holders to participate in DeFi protocols while retaining exposure to Bitcoin's price movements. By converting BTC into WBTC on Hedera, users can access lending, trading, and liquidity provision opportunities without transferring their underlying Bitcoin.

This expansion aligns with Hedera's strategy to attract institutional capital to its DeFi ecosystem, which has seen a 53.4% increase in total value locked (TVL) year-to-date.

Hedera's appeal lies in its consensus mechanism, which eliminates frontrunning and miner-extractable value (MEV)-common issues in other blockchain networks. "With the arrival of canonical WBTC on Hedera, available via Stargate Finance, the vast amount of idle Bitcoin liquidity can now participate in Hedera DeFi," said James Hodgkins, Chief Growth Officer at HBAR, Inc., a subsidiary of the Hedera Foundation according to PR Newswire. The platform's focus on scalability and compliance-ready infrastructure has also drawn interest from enterprises, including partnerships with Google and Nvidia.

The integration coincides with a broader rebound in Hedera's ecosystem. HBAR, the native token of Hedera, surged 88% in November 2025, reaching $0.20 and pushing its market capitalization past $8 billion. This growth was fueled by inflows into exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and the token's addition to Google Cloud's BigQuery datasets, enhancing cross-chain data accessibility. Meanwhile, decentralized applications (dApps) on Hedera saw a 190% year-over-year increase in activity, with Stader and SaucerSwap leading DeFi liquidity provision.

BitGo emphasized the security and transparency of the WBTC integration, with Chen Fang, Chief Revenue Officer, noting the company's role in "empowering institutions and clients to confidently deploy Bitcoin on a high-performance, sustainable network" according to PR Newswire. LayerZero, which facilitates cross-chain communication, highlighted the move as a milestone in making Bitcoin "truly borderless" according to PR Newswire.

The expansion underscores a growing trend of Bitcoin liquidity migrating to alternative DeFi rails. Hedera's TVL has climbed to $113.5 million in Q3 2025, driven by protocols like SaucerSwap, which accounts for two-thirds of the network's liquidity. As institutional investors seek yield-generating opportunities, platforms like Hedera are positioning themselves as bridges between Bitcoin's store-of-value narrative and DeFi's dynamic markets.