The demand for generating returns on bitcoin holdings is increasing among institutions, prompting finance platform Mezo to launch a new product offering. Mezo Prime is introducing a new feature called Enclaves, which are segregated vaults that enable institutions to earn yield on their bitcoin assets held in custody with Anchorage Digital Bank. This development reflects a shift in how institutions perceive bitcoin, from a passive store of value to a capital that can produce immediate returns. The emergence of bitcoin-native yield infrastructure has driven this change, with projects like Rootstock and Babylon developing mechanisms that allow BTC to be used in lending and other financial strategies without leaving the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Mezo's Enclaves are designed to address institutional requirements around asset segregation, reporting, and risk controls, which have historically limited participation in crypto lending and decentralized finance. The project has received 250 BTC in funding from Bullish, which is also one of the first users of the product. Bitcoin deposited into the vaults can be locked to earn protocol fees or used as collateral to borrow a bitcoin-backed stablecoin. While institutional adoption of these products is still in its early stages, projects like Mezo demonstrate a growing trend of treating bitcoin as a productive financial asset rather than just a digital equivalent of gold.