Mezo Prime is launching Enclaves, segregated vaults that allow institutional investors to earn yield on bitcoin held in custody with Anchorage Digital Bank. The product is backed by 250 BTC ($19.4 million) in seed funding from Bullish, which is also among the first users, deploying part of its treasury into the vaults while maintaining its existing custody framework.
The shift reflects a growing trend: institutions increasingly view bitcoin not just as a passive store of value, but as productive capital. Projects like Rootstock and Babylon are building infrastructure for BTC lending, collateralized borrowing, and other financial strategies within the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Enclaves are designed to meet institutional requirements for asset segregation, reporting, and risk controls - areas that have historically limited participation in crypto lending and DeFi. Bitcoin deposited can be locked to earn protocol fees or used as collateral to borrow MUSD, a bitcoin-backed stablecoin, without rehypothecation.
While institutional adoption of these products is still early and yields remain relatively low compared to other crypto assets, Mezo demonstrates that institutions are beginning to treat bitcoin as a financial asset rather than a digital equivalent to gold.