BitGo Expands Yield Opportunities with Institutional-Grade Bitcoin Staking through Core DAO
Integration with Core DAO Enables Dual Staking for Institutional Clients
In a move that expands yield opportunities for institutional clients, cryptocurrency custody firm BitGo has integrated institutional-grade Bitcoin staking through the layer-1 blockchain platform Core DAO. This integration makes BitGo one of the first custodians to enable institutional access to dual staking with Core, allowing clients to earn scalable Bitcoin yields.
BitGo CEO’s Statement on the Integration
According to a joint announcement on December 9, BitGo’s integration with Core underscores its commitment to expanding opportunities for institutional clients to securely generate yield from their Bitcoin holdings. "BitGo’s integration with Core underscores our commitment to expanding opportunities for institutional clients to securely generate yield from their Bitcoin holdings," said Mike Belshe, CEO of BitGo.
What is Cryptocurrency Staking?
Cryptocurrency staking is a process that allows crypto holders to earn passive rewards for holding their assets by locking their coins in wallets. Although cryptocurrency staking is natively supported on proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchains like Ethereum, Bitcoin, which operates a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism, cannot be natively staked.
Staking Methods for BTC
There are at least four methods of BTC staking, including:
- Custodial lending: This method involves locking BTC with a custodian, who then lends the assets to other users.
- Wrapping BTC and applying DeFi lending: This method involves wrapping BTC into an ERC-20 token, which can be used in DeFi lending protocols.
- Bitcoin layer-2 staking: This method involves staking BTC on a layer-2 protocol, such as Lightning Network, to earn yield from the activity on that chain.
- Restaking: This method involves staking BTC with an intermediary protocol, which then restakes it with external client chains to earn yield from the activity on those client chains.
Core’s Self-Custodial Bitcoin Staking
Core’s non-custodial Bitcoin staking is a form of BTC staking where stakers lock their BTC on the Bitcoin blockchain to provide security to the Core blockchain in exchange for Core (CORE) tokens. Core’s dual staking grants higher BTC staking rates to those who also stake CORE tokens.
Dual Staking with BitGo and Core
"With dual staking, we’ve kind of stepped it up to the next level, where now you can go put your Bitcoin to work, and you can earn even more attractive deals than some of the DeFi opportunities in terms of these Bitcoin ecosystems," said Rich Rines, founding contributor of Core DAO, in an interview with Cointelegraph.
Benefits of Dual Staking
By timelocking client Bitcoin and staking CORE tokens directly from BitGo’s qualified custody platform, institutions can unlock scalable, tiered yield without incurring any slashing, credit, counterparty, or smart contract risks on their principal assets. The news comes shortly after Core DAO surpassed $1 billion in total value locked (TVL) on December 5.
Core DAO Surpasses $1 Billion in TVL
The assets contributing to this milestone are primarily Bitcoin-based, including solvBTC.m, oBTC, solvBTC.b, uBTC, solvBTC.CORE, aBTC and others. The growth to $1 billion in TVL has been largely driven by retail Bitcoin users actively participating in a variety of DeFi protocols on Core.
Conclusion
BitGo’s integration with Core DAO is a significant step forward for institutional clients seeking to expand their yield opportunities through cryptocurrency staking. By offering dual staking, BitGo is providing its clients with a secure and scalable way to earn passive rewards from their Bitcoin holdings. As the cryptocurrency market continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how this integration impacts the landscape of staking and DeFi protocols.
Additional Reading
- Bitcoin Dominance Will Fall in 2025: Benjamin Cowen
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