The interest of institutional investors in generating returns on their bitcoin holdings is gaining momentum, and financial platform Mezo has announced its entry into the market with a new product designed to help institutions earn yield on their bitcoin assets. Mezo Prime is introducing segregated vaults, known as Enclaves, which will enable institutions to earn yield on bitcoin held in custody with Anchorage Digital Bank. This development reflects a change in the way institutions perceive bitcoin, transitioning from a passive store of value to a capital-generating asset.
The emergence of bitcoin-native yield infrastructure has driven this shift, with projects like Rootstock and Babylon developing mechanisms for BTC to be utilized in lending, collateralized borrowing, and other financial strategies within the Bitcoin ecosystem. Mezo's Enclaves are designed to address institutional concerns around asset segregation, reporting, and risk controls, which have historically limited participation in crypto lending and decentralized finance.
The project has received 250 BTC ($19.4 million) in funding from Bullish, which is also among the first users of the product. Bitcoin deposited into the vaults can be locked to earn protocol fees or used as collateral to borrow MUSD, a bitcoin-backed stablecoin, without being rehypothecated.
While institutional adoption of these products is still in its early stages and yields are relatively low compared to other crypto assets, projects like Mezo demonstrate that institutions are increasingly treating bitcoin as a productive financial asset rather than just a digital equivalent to gold.