digital gold

cbBTC

Babylon

Aptos

Better

Most <a href="https://www.21shares.com/de-eu/insights/bitcoin-isnt-just-for-hodling-anymore-thanks-to-babylon" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Bitcoin holders</a> buy, move their coins into a cold wallet, and never touch them again. Fisher Yu, co-founder and chief technology officer of <a href="https://babylonlabs.io/blog/trustless-btcvault-101" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Babylon</a>, thinks that habit is about to break.
“Bitcoin will become a universal” financial tool, Yu told TheStreet <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Roundtable</a> at <a href="https://token2049.com/singapore" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Token2049 in Singapore</a>. He wants Bitcoin to be “not just digital gold but actually productive.”
<a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/analysts-lift-gold-58-places-higher-amid-central-bank-purchases" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Related: Analysts lift gold 58 places higher amid central bank purchases</a>
<h2 id="every-major-exchange-but-coinbase">Every major exchange but Coinbase</h2>
Babylon has achieved significant scale over the last several years. <a href="https://babylonlabs.io/blog/a-vault-first-roadmap-catalysing-bitcoin-defi" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Babylon says</a> its protocol has activated more than $10 billion in Bitcoin since <a href="https://www.theblock.co/news/ecosystems/2024-08-22-babylon-launches-phase-one-of-its-self-custodial-bitcoin-staking-mainnnet-312665" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">launching in August 2024</a>, driven by partnerships with major crypto exchanges.
Binance and Kraken both offer Babylon staking on their platforms.
<blockquote>
 “All the major exchanges are all using our protocol for their Bitcoin Earn program, except Coinbase,” Yu said.
</blockquote>
Coinbase took the custodial route instead. Its <a href="https://www.theblock.co/news/markets/2024-09-12-coinbase-wrapped-bitcoin-cbbtc-ethereum-base-316104" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">cbBTC</a> is a wrapped token backed by Bitcoin held at the exchange.
Yu put Babylon’s current deposits at around 40,000 BTC and explained how their new <a href="https://crypto.news/babylon-trustless-btc-vaults-defi-bitcoin-staking-2025/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Trustless Bitcoin Vaults</a> let holders lock native Bitcoin as collateral and borrow stablecoins without bridging it to another chain.<a href="https://www.theblock.co/news/deals/2026-01-07-a16z-crypto-buys-15-million-in-baby-tokens-to-fund-babylons-buildout-of-new-btcvaults-384636" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> a16z crypto put $15 millio</a>n behind it.
The <a href="https://pro.thestreet.com/market-commentary/stocks-tumble-as-yields-surge" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">10-year Treasury yield</a> is near 5%, its highest since 2007, a fact which Yu says will increase borrowing costs for crypto borrowers, but that on-chain borrowing will still beat what centralized lenders are able to provide.
<h3 id="more-news">More news:</h3>
<ul>
 <li><a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/billionaire-who-called-1987-crash-predicts-brutal-2027-for-stocks" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Billionaire who called 1987 crash predicts brutal 2027 for stocks</a></li>
 <li><a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/circle-jumps-40-places-on-the-roundtable-100-after-73-3b-milestone" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Circle jumps 40 places on the Roundtable 100 after $73.3B milestone</a></li>
 <li><a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/policy/aptos-labs-and-five-blockchain-groups-ask-sec-for-clearer-crypto-rules" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Aptos Labs and five blockchain groups ask SEC for clearer crypto rules</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="the-mortgage-case">The mortgage case</h2>
Yu’s retail pitch is housing. Bitcoin-backed mortgages arrived earlier in 2026, with Coinbase and Better Home &amp; Finance now letting buyers pledge Bitcoin toward home loans, and Fannie Mae backing their first token-backed mortgage fund.
With the <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/latest-news/bessent-doubles-down-on-bond-fix-as-mortgage-rates-near-7-5" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">30-year mortgage rate at 7</a>.32%, Yu says borrowing stablecoins against Bitcoin can come in at a “much, much lower rate.” The Fannie Mae product works a little differently, holding its Bitcoin with Coinbase and prices around 0.5 to 1.5 points above standard loans.
Yu believes that within the next five years or so, trustless on-chain collateral wins that comparison. If it does, he says, Bitcoin “can actually be repriced.”

Babylon cofounder: rising rates will wake idle Bitcoin

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