The interest of institutions in earning returns on their bitcoin holdings is gaining momentum, with finance platform Mezo announcing its entry into the market of yield-generating solutions for what has traditionally been considered a passive asset. Mezo Prime is rolling out segregated vaults, known as Enclaves, which enable institutions to earn yield on bitcoin held in custody with Anchorage Digital Bank. This development signals a significant shift in how institutions perceive the largest cryptocurrency, transitioning from a store of value to a capital that can produce immediate returns. The emergence of bitcoin-native yield infrastructure, such as projects like Rootstock and Babylon, has driven this change by allowing BTC to be utilized in lending, collateralized borrowing, and other financial strategies within the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Designed to meet institutional requirements for asset segregation, reporting, and risk controls, Enclaves address historical limitations in crypto lending and decentralized finance participation. Backed by $19.4 million in funding from Bullish, the digital-asset firm and parent company of CoinDesk, the project also has Bullish as one of its first users, allocating part of its treasury to the product while maintaining its existing custody framework. Bitcoin deposited into these vaults can be locked to earn protocol fees or used as collateral to borrow a bitcoin-backed stablecoin, all without being rehypothecated. Although institutional adoption of such products is still in its early stages and yields are relatively low compared to other crypto assets, initiatives like Mezo illustrate the evolving perception of bitcoin among institutions, from a digital gold equivalent to a productive financial asset.