Have Your BTC and Use It On DeFi Too: Move Bitcoin to Ethereum with RenVM in MEW Wallet
The crypto community can be a passionate and uncompromising bunch, with strong opinions on which coins are the ‘real deal’ and which blockchain will end up ‘ruling them all’. Plenty of assets have enjoyed hype cycles in the past few years, but you can’t argue with math: Bitcoin and Ethereum remain the most popular cryptocurrencies with the largest market caps, but they are popular for different reasons.
Bitcoin is the original blockchain and the best store of value in crypto (so far), while Ethereum’s main advantage is smart contract functionality which enables tokens and DeFi instruments. Bitcoiners and Ethereans can be quite adamant about the superiority of their blockchain, but at this point, there is no need to stay entrenched in these camps. You can enjoy the benefits of both, and gain the most value with the most flexibility, by moving your Bitcoin to Ethereum with RenVM in MEW wallet*.
*Currently only available on iOS, with Android coming soon.
About Ren Network
With all our services and integrations, MEW is dedicated to a decentralized future. There’s been a lot of buzz lately about Bitcoin moving to Ethereum, but many of the popular solutions, like WBTC, are highly centralized. Ren Network offers a way of using BTC on Ethereum in a simpler, more efficient way with a roadmap toward full decentralization.
MEW is excited to be the first mobile integration for Ren Network’s RenVM. We have worked very closely with the Ren team to create a unique Bitcoin to Ethereum process — a smooth and intuitive experience, available directly from your phone.
Wait, but why? Benefits of using Bitcoin on Ethereum
Since Bitcoin is still the most well-known cryptocurrency, many new users enter the space by buying BTC. This is a great place to start, but there is not much you can do with Bitcoin except hold it. Quick, cheap retail payments (buying the proverbial coffee with Bitcoin) are still not possible — besides, you might not want to be spending an asset that might see considerable growth in the next few years.
Tokenizing Bitcoin for use on Ethereum allows you to keep that store of value and reap the benefits of potential growth, while also making your assets work for you right now with DeFi lending and borrowing, swaps, liquidity mining, and many other services on Ethereum. The amount of Bitcoin on Ethereum has grown dramatically in the last 6 months, indicating a strong trend — and MEW makes it easy to try it for yourself.
Move your Bitcoin to Ethereum
Moving your Bitcoin to Ethereum means locking up your BTC in the Ren Network and minting an equal amount of renBTC, an ERC-20 token that can be used on Ethereum. All you need to do is go to the Swap section in your MEW wallet app, select Move Bitcoin to Ethereum, and send BTC to the address given. A process of 6 confirmations will be initiated. It might take a bit of time (if you are accustomed to Ethereum transaction times, Bitcoin may surprise you), but MEW wallet will conveniently notify you when the operation is completed and the newly-minted renBTC is sent to your MEW wallet. You can find a more detailed guide to this process in our Help Center.
Move back any time
Since the price of renBTC always corresponds to the price of Bitcoin, you can move back any time without losing any of Bitcoin’s value. Just go through a similar process — except backwards — of sending renBTC out and receiving the BTC in your desired Bitcoin address. It doesn’t even have to be the same address from which the BTC came earlier.
Remember, that you can also go ‘backwards’ to start with: if you have ETH that you’d like to move into Bitcoin, you can do that without a centralized exchange, completely inside your MEW wallet. Just get renBTC in exchange for your ETH in MEW wallet’s Swap section, move the renBTC into Bitcoin, and send it to your separate Bitcoin wallet for a long-term store of value.
Go ahead and try it out, and as always, let us know what you think through support@myetherwallet.com or on our official social channels!
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