Hashi, the Bitcoin finance protocol built on the Sui network, will begin a phased mainnet launch later this month with more than $500 million in committed capital, according to an official announcement. The commitment gives Sui's Bitcoin finance infrastructure significant liquidity from day one and will enable institutions and crypto investors to take out BTC-backed loans, borrow against Bitcoin and pursue other financial strategies without selling their holdings.

The protocol is part of Sui's push into Bitcoin-backed finance, aiming to make the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization directly usable as collateral across the network's decentralized finance ecosystem. The launch targets a persistent gap in the market: much of the Bitcoin held by institutions and public companies sits idle in wallets, and holders have had limited ways to borrow against it without selling.

More than 20 crypto businesses are supporting the launch, including Anchorage Digital, which extends the institutional adoption of Bitcoin-backed finance one step further. The breadth of the coalition — spanning custody, trading, exchange and wallet infrastructure — shows the model drawing participants from across the market stack rather than from DeFi alone.

hBTC Puts Native Bitcoin to Work Across Sui

Native BTC can be used as collateral in Sui applications through Hashi's infrastructure. When a user deposits Bitcoin, Hashi issues hBTC on Sui, a token representation that can then be deployed across lending markets, credit products, automated vaults, structured products and other on-chain strategies. In practice, hBTC acts as a fungible claim on Bitcoin held at the base layer, giving Sui applications a collateral asset they can use without ever touching the underlying coins.

The process works in both directions: when hBTC leaves the system, it is burned and the corresponding native Bitcoin is released back to the Bitcoin network. Under this structure, the underlying coins remain on the Bitcoin network at all times, while Sui applications interact only with the hBTC representation.

The initial $500 pledge is intended to provide liquidity for these venues. The capital is earmarked to seed activity across the markets rather than serving as funds Hashi acquires for itself — without committed liquidity, the venues would be unlikely to see usage.

Bitcoin Stays on Its Native Network

Hashi's design centers on keeping the underlying BTC secure on the Bitcoin network, with smart contracts governing its use as collateral for other projects. That constraint is structural: Bitcoin cannot natively move to other chains, so any lending built on it depends on securing the coins in place while representing them elsewhere.

The protocol layers several security features around Bitcoin withdrawals: MPC infrastructure, Sui smart contracts and a guardian mechanism that is intended to provide an additional layer of authentication before collateral can leave the system.

Third parties will create financial products on top of the infrastructure, which is being developed by Hashi, the original creator of Sui.

Anchorage Digital Opens Institutional Access

Anchorage Digital's participation as a launch partner creates new routes to Bitcoin exposure for institutions that do not depend on traditional DeFi access. That matters because firms bound by qualified-custody requirements are generally unable to interact with DeFi protocols directly, which has kept much institutional Bitcoin outside on-chain credit markets.

One path involves the Atlas infrastructure for tri-party collateral arrangements, offered to firms with qualified-custody compliance needs. A second path connects institutions via Porto, Anchorage Digital's institutional self-custody wallet.

The company also intends to provide stablecoin liquidity to Hashi, which will increase the capital available for the lending and financing strategies operating on top of BTC.

Hashi Targets Bitcoin's Idle Capital

Hashi is backed by financial technology providers including BitGo, Bullish, Cumberland, FalconX and Ledger, while platforms such as Aftermath, Concrete and Fluid are anticipated to host vaults.

The overarching goal is to address the vast quantity of institutional and public company-held BTC that may be prohibitively inaccessible or simply sitting idle in wallets. Hashi aims to put that capital to work as collateral for credit markets, for stablecoin borrowing and for real-world asset strategies, all without requiring a further sale of Bitcoin by holders.

Near-term markers for the rollout are concrete: the progression of the phased mainnet launch later this month, whether vaults on Aftermath, Concrete and Fluid go live as anticipated, and how much of the committed $500 million is actually deployed as borrowable liquidity across the venues.