Wrapped Tokens
In DeFi (Decentralized Finance)
Plain English
A token that represents another cryptocurrency from a different blockchain. For example, wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) is Bitcoin on Ethereum, or Portal wBTC on Solana. The original asset is locked up and you get an equivalent token you can use on the new chain.
Technical
Tokenized representation of assets from another blockchain, enabling cross-chain interoperability. Bridge protocols lock native asset on origin chain and mint equivalent wrapped token on destination chain with 1:1 backing. Examples: wETH (Wrapped Ether), wBTC (Wrapped Bitcoin), Portal wrapped assets on Solana. Introduces bridge risk - wrapped token security depends on bridge security.