Kraken is moving its wrapped-asset infrastructure to Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP), the exchange announced on X on May 14. The company said CCIP will become its exclusive bridge layer for kBTC — Kraken’s 1:1 Bitcoin-backed wrapped token — and for any future wrapped assets it brings into DeFi. Kraken did not provide a firm migration timeline.
Security was the headline reason. Kraken pointed to CCIP’s enterprise compliance (ISO 27001 and SOC 2), a decentralized network of 16 independent node operators, built-in rate limits and other risk-management capabilities as improvements that better meet institutional security needs. The exchange framed the move as a step to accelerate global crypto adoption by unlocking DeFi services and distribution for its entire wrapped-asset suite.
The decision comes amid wider re-evaluation of cross-chain infrastructure after April’s $292 million KelpDAO exploit, which targeted a bridge using LayerZero. That incident prompted several platforms — including Kelp, Solv and Re — to migrate to CCIP prior to Kraken’s announcement, citing security concerns.
Chainlink has been courting institutional users through 2025–2026. SBI Digital Markets, the digital-asset arm of Japan’s SBI Group, selected CCIP last November as its exclusive interoperability layer for tokenized real-world assets. Chainlink also reports that CCIP has supported over $28 trillion in cumulative on-chain transaction value and handles roughly $90 million in token transfers per week, according to market data.
For context, Kraken launched kBTC on Ethereum in October 2024, promoting it as a transparent, audited alternative to other wrapped-Bitcoin products amid scrutiny around wBTC’s custody and ownership model. Moving kBTC and future wrappers to CCIP signals Kraken’s push to combine audited wrapped tokens with a bridge architecture it deems more enterprise-ready.
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