This matters because a centralized exchange listing gives more people direct access to ICP’s ck tokens compared to traditional wrapped BTC, which comes with extra risk from bridges and custodians. ck tokens don’t rely on bridges or custodians holding the underlying asset. ckBTC is minted and redeemed through onchain cryptography rather than a third party multisig or issuer. It talks to the Bitcoin network directly, instead of minting a BTC stand-in through a bridge. Traditional wrapped tokens add extra trust and operational risk through custodians, multisigs, and bridges, which have failed in the past. Once BTC is in ckBTC form, transactions are fast and cheap on ICP compared to many chains that host wrapped BTC. The only main cost is the initial Bitcoin network fee to mint or redeem, not ongoing bridge fees. Functionally it behaves like wrapped BTC, but with less reliance on third parties.
