Babylon receives $15M from a16z Crypto to expand Bitcoin-native lending
Summary
Babylon Labs raised $15 million from a16z Crypto via the sale of its native BABY tokens to accelerate development of Bitcoin-native staking and lending infrastructure. The protocol is building trustless vaults that let users use BTC as on-chain collateral while keeping coins on the Bitcoin network and under user control. Babylon partnered with Aave Labs to bring native Bitcoin-backed lending to Aave V4, with testing planned for Q1 2026 and a joint product launch targeted for April 2026. The investment comes as Bitcoin-backed lending re-emerges with fully collateralized, stricter custody models, echoed by recent moves from Coinbase, Xapo Bank and Ledn.
Funding
Amount
$15.0M
Total raised
Date
January 7, 2026
Announcement date
Investors
Ledn, CoinGecko, Andreessen Horowitz
Lead investors
Company
-
Funded company
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