Markets New Bitcoin Lending Technology Launches with $500 Million Backing
Sui, a Layer-1 blockchain, is unveiling Hashi, an institutional protocol that enables users to leverage Bitcoin as collateral without transferring it off the Bitcoin network.
By Omkar Godbole, AI Boost Oct 9, 2026, 2:40 a.m. EDT 2 min read
Bitcoin BTC$82,521.02-backed finance is on the verge of a significant liquidity surge.
Layer-1 blockchain Sui is set to introduce Hashi, a new institutional framework that allows Bitcoin holders to use their assets as collateral for loans without needing to transfer them off the Bitcoin ledger. The mainnet is expected to launch in phases later this month.
The initiative has already accrued $500 million in capital commitments from a consortium of over 20 industry partners, ensuring robust liquidity upon launch.
Although these are commitments rather than immediate funds, the pre-pledged capital guarantees that the system will not start with empty markets, but rather with deep liquidity.
“Hashi is launching with substantial funding and a coalition of industry leaders because institutions want to utilize Bitcoin without relinquishing the protections they require,” stated Adeniyi Abiodun, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of Mysten Labs, the original developer of Sui, in an official announcement.
The primary aim for this capital is to tap into an estimated $1 trillion worth of dormant Bitcoin. Previously, institutional and corporate holders have struggled to find a compliant and transparent ecosystem to effectively deploy their Bitcoin within decentralized finance (DeFi).
This launch reflects a broader trend in Bitcoin-backed finance, where borrowing is transitioning from mere speculative trading to practical applications such as funding education, real estate purchases, and corporate operational costs.
“Public companies and institutions possess vast amounts of Bitcoin, but their capacity to leverage that capital has been limited by the technology available to them,” remarked Nathan McCauley, CEO and co-founder of Anchorage Digital, a launch partner that will also provide stablecoin liquidity to the network. “Connecting our institutional clients with Hashi marks a complete paradigm shift,” he added.
The system addresses these institutional limitations by allowing users to securely lock their Bitcoin in a vault address directly on the Bitcoin blockchain. This address is safeguarded by a 2-of-2 multisig, requiring cryptographic approval from both Hashi's validators. Additionally, Hashi features a distinct guardian layer to oversee and slow down any suspicious movements of collateral.
While the actual Bitcoin remains securely locked on the Bitcoin network, Hashi generates hBTC, a digital voucher token on Sui, which is directly backed by that deposit. This is where the lending operations commence. Applications on Sui can utilize these hBTC vouchers to facilitate lending, borrowing, credit markets, and trading of real-world assets. When a user decides to withdraw, the hBTC voucher is permanently destroyed on Sui, prompting the multisig to safely unlock and return the original Bitcoin to the user on the Bitcoin network.
To comply with stringent institutional regulations and security standards, Hashi has undergone thorough scrutiny. Security firm Certora has formally verified Hashi's smart contracts, while another firm, CommonPrefix, has evaluated the cryptographic aspects of its multi-party computation (MPC) protocol.
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