I was asked, "Why is wBTC not real Bitcoin?"...

To get wBTC, you send another entity your bitcoin. They now have it in their address. They may keep it forever, they may lose it, they may disappear.

In return, you get a receipt called wBTC which can be traded. It entitles you to getting your bitcoin back, but there is no legal or cryptographic certainty. There is only TrustMeBro Technology ™.

wBTC is basically an NFT of bitcoin that someone else is holding for you.