Binance Labs Invests in Lombard to Connect Bitcoin to DeFi

Binance Labs have invested in Lombard to accelerate our mission to connect Bitcoin to DeFi through LBTC. Since launching in August, Lombard has become the largest Bitcoin liquid staking platform, rapidly capturing 40% of the market with a Total Value Locked (TVL) of over $640 million, or 9.5K BTC, from more than 13,000 users (Dune). Over 60% of the total LBTC supply is already active in DeFi strategies.

Designed to be the stETH of BTC, LBTC provides holders with a native staking yield via Babylon whilst simultaneously maintaining liquidity, enabling them to move freely through DeFi. LBTC holders are participating in high-value DeFi strategies such as yield generation on Pendle, institutional borrowing with Maple Finance, and lending on platforms like Morpho and ZeroLend (DeFi Dashboard). Lombard is also pioneering the first Bitcoin Liquid Restaking Token (LRT) through its partnership with ether.fi.

“We are excited to support Lombard’s vision of scaling LBTC across DeFi. Lombard’s approach to integrating Bitcoin with DeFi addresses a clear market need, and LBTC’s fast growth demonstrates user demand to unlock more utility from their Bitcoin holdings,” said Andy Chang, Investment Director, Binance Labs.

The funding will accelerate Lombard’s expansion beyond Ethereum, enabling BTC holders across multiple blockchains to seamlessly stake and mint LBTC. Starting with BNB Chain, users will soon access LBTC on Base, Arbitrum, Scroll, Solana, and other chains with significant DeFi activity. This will position LBTC as the universal Bitcoin LST across the multi-chain ecosystem.

“We’re incredibly grateful to have Binance Labs on board as we continue expanding the adoption of LBTC as a core primitive in DeFi. Their support is invaluable in helping us connect with a global audience of Bitcoin holders eager to earn yield or leverage their assets. We look forward to accelerating our growth and delivering on Lombard’s mission to unlock new opportunities for Bitcoin holders across the DeFi space,” said Jacob Phillips, Co-Founder, Lombard.

Lombard distinguishes itself in three key ways: an Ecosystem-First Mission, Decentralized Security, and a DeFi-Native Team. The vision for Lombard was born out of a meeting with leading blockchain innovators, including Babylon and Polychain, in April. As the conversation centered on liquidity challenges and ecosystem growth, the idea of a liquid Bitcoin standard emerged, recognizing it could drive widespread innovation across DeFi. Lombard is driven by the fact that if just 10% of Bitcoin’s $1.5 trillion market cap flows into DeFi, the TVL in the ecosystem could more than double, creating sustainable, long-term growth and opportunities for innovation.

Lombard is unique in prioritizing decentralization as a foundational pillar. Its decentralized validator network, the Security Consortium, ensures that majority consensus must be reached for every transaction, setting it apart from competitors who rely on centralized custodians or team-controlled keys. This commitment to decentralized security is critical for building a trustless financial system that can scale with DeFi’s growing demands.

Moreover, Lombard’s team brings together expertise from leading venture capital firms, successful DeFi protocols, and major tech companies — including Polychain, Ripple, Argent, Coinbase, and Maple. This collective experience in scaling DeFi ventures, combined with unparalleled access to institutional relationships, positions Lombard to lead the next wave of Bitcoin’s integration with DeFi.

Lombard closed a $16 million seed round in July 2024, led by Polychain Capital, with participation from investors including Babylon, dao5, Franklin Templeton, Foresight Ventures, HTX Ventures, Mirana Ventures, Mantle EcoFund, Nomad Capital, OKX Ventures, and Robot Ventures.

About Binance Labs

Binance Labs is the leading venture capital and incubator committed to empowering early-stage projects and driving the growth and development of the Web3 ecosystem. Since our founding in 2018, we have consistently focused on the long-term, and provided strategic support and funding to projects, regardless of market cycles.

As a chain- and sector-agnostic venture capital leader in the Web3 space, we back everything from infrastructure to application layers, and our focus has consistently been on tech innovation with meaningful product-market fit and sustainable revenue models.

Binance Labs’ portfolio covers over 250 projects from over 25 countries across six continents. More than 65 of Binance Labs’ portfolio companies are projects that have gone through our incubation programs. For more information, follow Binance Labs on X.