Sui Network To Launch Bitcoin Lending Protocol With $500M

Layer-1 blockchain Sui is set to launch Hashi, a new institutional network that allows holders to use Bitcoin as collateral for lending without moving it off the Bitcoin ledger, according to CoinDesk. The mainnet is slated to roll out in phases later this month.

To back the ecosystem, the initiative has already secured $500 million in capital commitments from a coalition of over 20 industry partners. While these are commitments rather than immediate deposits, the pre-pledged capital ensures that when the system debuts, markets can open with deep liquidity instead of starting empty.

Unlocking Dormant Wealth

The primary target for this capital is a massive pool of dormant wealth. Sui estimates that roughly $1 trillion worth of Bitcoin is currently sitting idle. Until now, institutional and corporate balance-sheet holders have lacked a compliant, transparent ecosystem to safely deploy their native Bitcoin in decentralized finance.

Public companies and institutions hold enormous amounts of Bitcoin, but their ability to use that capital has been constrained by the technology available to them. Connecting institutional clients with Hashi represents a shift in how Bitcoin-backed finance operates, moving beyond speculative trading to cover real-world expenses like university tuition, real estate acquisitions, and corporate working capital.

Vaults and Vouchers

To overcome institutional constraints, users securely lock their BTC in a vault address directly on the Bitcoin blockchain instead of bridging across blockchains. A 2-of-2 multisig secures this address, requiring cryptographic sign-off from both Hashi's validators. Hashi also includes a separate, independent guardian layer designed to monitor and slow suspicious collateral movements.

While the real bitcoin stays frozen on the Bitcoin network, Hashi mints hBTC, a digital voucher token on Sui backed directly by that deposit. Apps on Sui can use these hBTC vouchers to fuel lending, borrowing, credit markets, and real-world asset trading. When a user wants to exit, the hBTC voucher is permanently burned on Sui, triggering the multisig to safely unlock and release the original bitcoin back to the user.

Key facts

• Sui is launching the Hashi institutional protocol to enable bitcoin-backed lending without moving assets off the Bitcoin network.
• The platform debuts with $500 million in capital commitments from over 20 industry partners.
• The mainnet rollout is planned in phases later this month, targeting a portion of the estimated $1 trillion in dormant institutional Bitcoin.
• Security firm Certora formally verified Hashi's smart contracts, while CommonPrefix reviewed the multi-party computation cryptography.