lstBTC: The New Liquid, Yield-Bearing Bitcoin Token Designed for Institutions

Institutions can soon trade, transfer, and use lstBTC at trusted venues while earning yield

Hong Kong, Feb. 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Core Foundation, in partnership with Maple Finance, BitGo, Copper, and Hex Trust, today announced lstBTC, a new liquid, yield-bearing Bitcoin token designed for institutions to earn returns on idle Bitcoin. By transforming Bitcoin into a productive asset, lstBTC offers holders a way to put billions of dollars back into their pockets while maintaining security, compliance, and liquidity.

Designed to unlock capital efficiency while maintaining security, compliance, and liquidity, lstBTC enables institutions to earn sustainable yield on idle Bitcoin holdings without disrupting existing custody arrangements.

Unlocking Yield-Bearing Bitcoin Collateral

For years, institutional Bitcoin holders have faced a tradeoff: keeping BTC as a secure store of value or sacrificing security or liquidity to earn yield. lstBTC changes this dynamic by allowing institutions to earn yield paid in Bitcoin without transferring BTC away from trusted custodians.

With over $500 billion in Bitcoin accruing fees in custodial accounts, lstBTC unlocks significant savings. It allows institutions to generate sustainable yields on Bitcoin holdings while maintaining principal security, liquidity, and capital efficiency within industry-standard custody practices.

Maple Finance brings its expertise in institutional credit markets and risk management to lstBTC by overseeing yield generation strategies that align with regulatory and risk standards. Maple helps lstBTC holders simplify earning yield without transferring BTC out of custody. By integrating lstBTC into its broader institutional infrastructure, Maple Finance helps institutions maximize capital efficiency without sacrificing security.

"The lack of Bitcoin yield options has been a noticeable void in the market for some time. Maple is proud to partner with CORE on lstBTC which enables institutions to earn yield on their BTC without giving up the security of trusted custodians,” said Sidney Powell, CEO and Co-Founder at Maple Finance

How lstBTC Works

Institutions can mint lstBTC by depositing Bitcoin with trusted custodians like BitGo, Copper, or Hex Trust. These custodians are responsible for maintaining the principal Bitcoin, while lstBTC can be traded, transferred, and used at any trusted venue. As institutions earn yield on their lstBTC holdings, the yield is paid in Bitcoin and credited to their custodial accounts.

This approach ensures capital efficiency, security, and scalability, offering institutions a seamless way to earn yield on their Bitcoin holdings without disrupting existing workflows.

What Sets lstBTC Apart

Unlike alternative Bitcoin yield solutions, lstBTC is designed specifically for institutions, without asset transfers or unnecessary risk.

lstBTC is fully integrated with trusted custodians, enabling institutions to mint, trade, transfer, and use lstBTC at any venue without moving BTC.

lstBTC is designed to be capital efficient, allowing institutions to earn yield on their Bitcoin holdings without disrupting existing workflows or sacrificing principal security.

Redefining Bitcoin for Institutional Investors

lstBTC empowers institutional customers—portfolio managers, ETP issuers, accredited investors, and market makers—to maximize Bitcoin productivity without compromising security or operational efficiency. With the most trusted names in asset management, digital asset custody, liquidity, and risk management behind it, lstBTC sets a new standard for institutional Bitcoin yield.

For more information on lstBTC and how it can help institutional Bitcoin holders generate yield securely, visit lstbtc.coredao.org or contact core (at) transformgroup.com.

About Core

Core is Bitcoin's first Proof of Stake (PoS) layer and the largest Bitcoin DeFi ecosystem, merging the unparalleled security of Bitcoin with the scalability of the Satoshi Plus consensus. Core's Dual Staking empowers Bitcoin holders to potentially earn secure and sustainable yields by staking both BTC and CORE, all while retaining full control of their assets.

Over 5,500 BTC and 165M CORE are currently staked on the Core blockchain, enhancing Bitcoin's utility and security. Core is the most Bitcoin-aligned EVM blockchain with ~80% of Bitcoin mining hash power contributing to the network's security. This breakthrough has amassed millions of Core adopters - over 40M unique addresses, 350M+ transactions, and over $850M TVL since its mainnet launch in January 2023.

For more information, visit cored