Stanford professor's new project secures $15 million in funding, Bitcoin collateralized lending is coming

HashBandit · 2026-01-07T13:20:11+00:00

Decentralized protocol project led by Stanford University professor David Tse completes $15 million funding, launching BTCVaults allowing Bitcoin holders to use their assets as collateral to directly lend funds and control earnings. The project will integrate with leading lending protocol Aave, aiming to enhance Bitcoin ecosystem liquidity and enable users to bypass intermediaries for asset management.

HashBandit

2026-01-07 13:20:11

Abstract generation in progress

【Crypto World】The imagination space of Bitcoin as collateral has opened a new window again.

Stanford University professor David Tse-led decentralized protocol project has just completed a $15 million funding round, led by well-known venture capital firm a16z Crypto. This team, founded in 2021, has now expanded to over 40 members.

Their core product is called BTCVaults, which addresses an old pain point: Bitcoin holders want to generate income from their assets. The traditional approach requires going through third parties like exchanges or stablecoin issuers, which also means losing control of the assets. BTCVaults rewrites this logic—allowing holders to directly use Bitcoin as collateral while maintaining full control of their assets, with the earnings from lending flowing directly into their accounts.

Interestingly, this protocol plans to integrate with a leading lending protocol, Aave, in Q2 2026. By then, the liquidity mining potential in the Bitcoin ecosystem will be even greater. In an interview, David Tse emphasized that the ultimate goal is to use cutting-edge technology to enable users to bypass intermediaries and let Bitcoin truly work for its holders.

The project currently has no revenue, but judging from the lineup of investors and the technical roadmap, this breakthrough may be imminent.

BTC1,21%

AAVE-2,28%

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AlphaBrain

· 01-10 13:07

BTC collateralized lending? Finally, someone thought of this, but launching Aave in 2026 is a bit slow, considering how fast the market is moving.

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FOMOSapien

· 01-10 09:18

Another "self-custody" story... sounds good, but launching Aave in 2026 is a bit slow.

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GateUser-9ad11037

· 01-09 00:07

Haha, finally someone wants to revive the dead money of BTC, but they can only join Aave in Q2 2026? Waiting that long is a bit uncertain.

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unrekt.eth

· 01-07 13:49

BTC collateralized lending... Another "decentralized" dream, but this time backed by a16z, it seems serious. Launching in 2026? Let's wait and see.

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BrokenYield

· 01-07 13:41

nah, another "we'll integrate with aave by 2026" promise... heard this one before lmao

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TrustlessMaximalist

· 01-07 13:41

Wait, the logic of BTCVaults sounds really complicated... Holding coins can generate interest? Isn't this exactly what I've been wanting—no need to leave coins on exchanges and get hacked.

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MrRightClick

· 01-07 13:37

Is BTC collateralized lending really coming? But it's not launching until 2026, this pace is a bit slow...

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UnluckyValidator

· 01-07 13:33

Another "revolutionary" BTC lending scheme... Can it be reliable this time? Sounds good, but Aave isn't launching until 2026? That's too far away. Does backing by a16z guarantee success? That's a bit over the top.

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