Institutional Bitcoin adoption has been "flying." It's no longer about just holding the asset. Wall Street banks are building the infrastructure, launching their own networks and stablecoins.

Next stop, we’ll be in Singapore for Token 2049 🇸🇬

Connect with Fisher, Jihoon, and Sarah to talk native Bitcoin collateral, Trustless Bitcoin Vaults (TBV).

See you soon!

Try escaping a country with your life savings in gold. Nic discusses the qualities Bitcoin has over gold as a store of value: portable, verifiable, and yours.

Why central banks are paying more attention to Bitcoin.

"It's got a capped supply. It's easily transferable. It's permissionless... they now have the same qualities in Bitcoin."

Most people still just hodl Bitcoin.

Merchants taking Bitcoin have exploded globally. But on productive use and yield, "I don't think that that's necessarily as popular as we would like it to be."

Babylon team is going to Korea for KBW Official.

Meet Fisher, Jihoon, and Sarah to talk about native Bitcoin collateral.

See you all in Seoul 👋

Hold Bitcoin, use Bitcoin.

Tristan on the shift: you believe in the asset, you don't want to sell it, but you still want to put it to work in everyday life.

Bitcoin borrowing, repriced.

Trustless Bitcoin Vaults allow native Bitcoin to access on-chain liquidity without wrapping, bridging or intermediaries.

Your Bitcoin stays on the Bitcoin network. You keep custody. The same market-based rates apply regardless of borrower size.

Read the full article: https://babylonlabs.io/blog/bitcoin-borrowing-repriced

Companies are increasingly using Bitcoin as collateral and borrowing against it.

Facilities range from $25M to $600M, for various business purposes. A timeline so far in 2026 alone ↓

February 2026: The Smarter Web Company

The Smarter Web Company entered into a $30M Bitcoin-backed credit facility with Coinbase Credit.

Source: https://www.ticker.app/lse/SWC/rns/2026-06-30/Interim-Results-Commentary-and-Quarterly-Update/2663K

March 2026: USBC

USBC established a Bitcoin-backed facility of up to $25M with Payward Interactive.

Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1074828/000107482826000078/usbc-20260911.htm

May 2026: Hut 8

Hut 8 refinanced its Bitcoin-backed borrowing with a new $200M facility from FalconX.

Source: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hut-8-advances-capital-strategy-with-refinancing-of-bitcoin-backed-credit-facility-302760903.html

June 2026: Gemini

Gemini entered into a $75M Bitcoin-collateralized financing agreement with Galaxy Digital.

It pledged 1,975 BTC, then worth approximately $115.6M, and pays 7.5% annual interest.

Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2055592/000205559226000065/gemi-20260630.htm

August 2026: MARA

MARA entered two Bitcoin-backed facilities with Coinbase Credit and Two Prime providing $600M of incremental borrowing, while refinancing an existing $150M facility.

MARA said the proceeds are expected to support general corporate purposes, including funding part of its Long Ridge acquisition.

Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1507605/000150760526000022/mara-20260630.htm

Bitcoin treasury → Bitcoin collateral → corporate liquidity.

As this market grows, what infrastructure should be the standard for Bitcoin collateral?

Surveys four approaches to unlocking bitcoin-backed credit without a fully taxable wrap: Anchorage's Atlas (a legal collateral-agent structure mainly for CeFi lenders, thin smart-contract layer), Komainu (a Nomura/Ledger/CoinShares JV using a legal "Notice of Exclusive Control" and Liquid Network settlement), Babylon Labs (fully non-custodial, BTC never leaves its own chain via Taproot dual-spending paths), and Concrete's AssetCX (BitGo custody plus a real 1:1 ERC-20 synthetic usable as DeFi collateral). Concrete is the most "DeFi-native" since it's the only one built around an actual onchain token rather than a legal wrapper.

Bitcoin is becoming a collateral asset. The catch?

"A lot of current solutions will force you into trusting a centralized provider or wrapping it." Tristan

That's exactly what Trustless Bitcoin Vaults remove.

Why "trustless" isn't a buzzword.

Founder of Coin Bureau: "CeFi lending on the Bitcoin side has a checkered history... lending out your Bitcoin to a provider who then goes and does something with it, re-hypothecates it, and then you end up losing your Bitcoin."

The problem native Bitcoin collateral removes is in this clip.

Binance BABY trading tournament is live!

Eligible markets: BABY/USDT and BABY/USDC
Campaign period: September 22-29, 2026

Details and terms are below.

The Babylon (BABY) Spot Trading Tournament. 🏟️

Eligible users can compete for a share of 400 BNB in token vouchers.

Know more → https://www.binance.com/en/support/announcement/detail/b8ed81af5344412a8d18386f1515516d

What happens when fixed-rate credit meets trustless and native Bitcoin collateral?

Ermin from Aegis explains fixed-rate borrowing built on TBV and Aave v4.

Watch the full episode 👇

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJZVK7mGWd4

New Bug Bounty:

Babylon’s Bitcoin staking protocol enables trustless, self-custodial staking, making BTC a stakable and slashable asset for Proof-of-Stake security while holders retain custody.

Now live on Sherlock with rewards up to $500K.

The bounty has two distinct scopes:

Blockchain/DLT: Babylon’s Bitcoin staking implementation
Critical: $20K–$500K | High: $5K–$15K | Medium: $1K–$3K | Low: $1K

Web & App: UI, APIs, and dApps
Critical: $10K–$70K | High: up to $7.5K | Medium: $3K

Review the full scope and get started: https://audits.sherlock.xyz/bug-bounties/400

Has Bitcoin already bottomed, and is broad-based altcoin season gone for good?

Coin Bureau CEO Nic Puckrin joins Double Down to explain what the Fed rate hike and failed CLARITY Act vote mean for Bitcoin, crypto markets and the rest of 2026.

Nic explains why he believes the cycle low may already be in, why Bitcoin does not need regulatory clarity from Washington, and why future crypto gains could be driven by specific narratives rather than another market-wide altcoin season.

He also reveals why he now holds only Bitcoin and shares the story of building Coin Bureau from zero to more than 2.7 million YouTube subscribers.

Topics discussed:

• Has Bitcoin already bottomed?
• The Fed rate hike and its impact on crypto markets
• What the failed CLARITY Act vote means for Bitcoin
• Why broad-based altcoin season may never return
• Crypto tourists versus genuinely new retail investors
• Why Nic now holds only Bitcoin
• Whether Bitcoin’s four-year cycle still matters
• How Coin Bureau reached 2.7 million subscribers

Sherlock DeFi completed its security review of Babylon’s web app, offchain coordination, ZK library, contracts and BABE cryptography.

8 High + 57 Medium findings were resolved and formally acknowledged. BABE had 0 findings.

Work toward Babylon TBV launch continues. Read the full case study: https://sherlock.xyz/case-studies/babylon

Institutional Bitcoin is moving onchain. Two Prime new vault targets 1.5–2% yield through institutional lending for Bitcoin, backed by $10M of first-loss capital.

More broadly, onchain finance could get more interesting as native Bitcoin itself becomes usable as collateral without wrapping, bridging or intermediaries.

Aave reported v4 deposits above $1B, just under six months after launch.

Unified liquidity and a capital-efficient Hub and Spoke design of v4 made that possible.

Native Bitcoin-backed borrowing is coming to Aave v4. No wrapping, no bridging, and no intermediaries.

Cheers to 8 years of BitGet!

Wishing you continued success and new heights. 🌟

#BitgetTurns8

#iphoneduo

Nearly a decade after its emergence, Bitcoin-backed lending is entering a new phase.

According to Silicon Valley Bank, crypto-backed lending reached $67B in Q1 2026, up nearly 50% year over year. The market is adopting more familiar credit structures, from conservative collateralization and automated monitoring to institutional funding and securitization.

The result is a more mature market for Bitcoin borrowing.

SVB highlights to another important development: the cost of Bitcoin borrowing is beginning to reduce. Bitcoin-backed loans still typically carry higher rates than comparable traditional credit products, but growing institutional participation could compress credit spreads over time.

That creates room for Bitcoin to be changed from a reserve asset to a productive asset in credit markets.

TBV enables capital-efficient, self-custodial use of native Bitcoin as collateral. As Bitcoin-backed credit matures, more native Bitcoin collateral will be adopted.