Bitcoin Updates: Lombard’s BTC.b Initiative Bridges DeFi Shortcomings Left by Major Centralized Players

Lombard Finance has taken over BTC.b, the Avalanche-based bridged

asset and its supporting infrastructure, from Labs as part of a strategic effort to broaden its Bitcoin DeFi portfolio, as reported by . The deal, which is anticipated to be finalized before the end of the year, enables Ava Labs to reduce operational expenses and concentrate on advancing its core blockchain technology, while secures a significant asset to enhance its standing in the onchain bitcoin capital market.

Launched in 2022, BTC.b boasts a market capitalization of $502 million and is utilized by DeFi platforms such as

and . With this new arrangement, the asset will keep its existing contract, name, and integrations on but will migrate to Lombard’s technical infrastructure. Eric Wang, Ava Labs’ DeFi lead, stated that this transition supports the company’s mission to "maintain and improve the Avalanche blockchain."

For Lombard, this purchase accelerates its goal of developing a comprehensive Bitcoin DeFi ecosystem. Co-founder Jacob Phillips pointed out that BTC.b is a strong addition to Lombard’s current yield-generating token, LBTC, which has a market cap of $1.3 billion. The platform now provides both yield and non-yield bitcoin assets across several blockchains, filling the void left by centralized options like cbBTC and

. Phillips also mentioned that BTC.b’s permissionless minting makes it easier for developers to bring bitcoin into their own protocols.

This deal also introduces new features through the Lombard SDK, allowing developers to integrate bitcoin directly into their applications. BTC.b will be the primary bitcoin asset on MegaETH at launch, with future plans to broaden its reach across multiple chains. Phillips further noted that both institutional and retail participation in Bitcoin DeFi is still in its early stages, with under 1% of bitcoin’s $2.1 trillion market cap currently active onchain.

The agreement comes after several months of negotiations between the two firms and was managed internally without outside advisors. Although the financial details remain confidential, this move highlights the increasing momentum for connecting Bitcoin liquidity with DeFi platforms.