Institutional crypto infrastructure provider Fireblocks has announced its integration with Stacks, a decentralized finance layer built for Bitcoin, enabling institutional clients to access lending and yield-bearing opportunities beyond the traditional constraints of the Bitcoin network.
Fireblocks, a platform trusted by major banks, asset managers and hedge funds for digital asset custody and operations, has taken a significant step into Bitcoin-based decentralized finance (DeFi) by integrating with the Stacks blockchain. The goal is to give institutional clients access to financial services like lending and yield generation, which have historically been difficult to implement directly on Bitcoin due to its slower block time and limited programmability.
One of the biggest hurdles for institutional adoption of Bitcoin DeFi has been the approximately 10-minute block confirmation time on Bitcoin, which makes fast, efficient transactions challenging. By leveraging Stacks, which produces blocks roughly every 29 seconds, Fireblocks can offer a smoother experience without sacrificing Bitcoin’s security, as all Stacks transactions ultimately settle on the Bitcoin ledger for finality.
Fireblocks said the integration will go live in early 2026, though no exact rollout timeline has been provided. The move highlights sustained institutional interest in Bitcoin DeFi even amid broader market downturns, with Bitcoin prices down roughly 40% from their all-time highs in October 2025.
What Fireblocks currently offers institutions
According to DeFiLlama data, total value locked (TVL) in Bitcoin-based DeFi apps climbed significantly between 2024 and 2025, rising from about $704 million to over $9 billion before adjusting to current levels. While these totals remain small compared with the broader DeFi ecosystem — roughly $103 billion — they indicate ongoing demand for expanding Bitcoin’s financial capabilities.
Proponents of Bitcoin DeFi argue that applications built on this protocol could eventually offer a more open and accessible alternative to traditional finance, democratizing access to credit, savings and yield services. Some analysts have even forecasted that Bitcoin DeFi could grow into a $200 billion market if its development trajectory continues.
Yet industry voices caution that expanding with additional layers like Stacks adds complexity to the infrastructure and could, if not handled carefully, create tensions with Bitcoin’s core principles of decentralization.
Taken together, the Fireblocks-Stacks partnership marks an important milestone in institutional-grade Bitcoin DeFi, opening the door for financial institutions to leverage yield-bearing and lending applications rooted in Bitcoin’s security while navigating the scaling and usability challenges that have long limited the network’s broader financial adoption.
