BitGo Opens Bitcoin Stacking to Institutions via Stacks, with STX Link Worth 5%
Key Facts
Stacks announced on November 3, 2026, that eligible institutional clients of BitGo Bank & Trust can stack bitcoin through its protocol, allowing them to earn BTC rewards while the asset remains in qualified custody at BitGo and on the Bitcoin network throughout the lockup period. Stacks said each participation position requires pairing bitcoin with an amount of STX equal to 5% of the value of the linked BTC. STX serves here as the capacity-allocation asset that secures the position’s right to rewards. The arrangement gives institutions a way to earn BTC rewards without moving bitcoin out of qualified custody. But participation requires more than holding bitcoin; it also entails linking STX and accepting a lock on the underlying asset for the position’s full term.
The lockup period lasts about six months, after which the value of the underlying asset is returned at maturity, according to Stacks’ announcement. The protocol says it has no mechanism for confiscating part of a position because of an operational failure, a mechanism known as slashing. BTC rewards come from bitcoin spent by Stacks miners to mine, not from lending or restaking the linked bitcoin. According to Stacks’ explanation, miners spend BTC under a mechanism that ties this spending to participant rewards. This mechanism separates the source of rewards from lending returns or the reuse of bitcoin in another protocol. Earning rewards remains subject to the protocol’s rules and distribution timing.
Stacks sets a target rate for each lockup period before it opens, and that rate applies throughout the period. But the realized rate may differ from the target because of the timing of miner reward distributions, according to the announcement. In an earlier update dated October 14, 2026, Stacks said the program was targeting an annual yield of about 3% during its initial expansion phase, with rewards distributed weekly in BTC, and that the target rate was not guaranteed. That update indicates the target level at the time, not a fixed yield guaranteed by the new announcement. The timing of distributions may also mean realized rewards do not match the target rate for each period.
BitGo said the bitcoin is not lent, bridged to another network or wrapped in a substitute token, but remains time-locked on the Bitcoin network using its standard script. The launch is currently limited to institutional partners on a whitelist managed by Stacks Labs. This means that making the service available to eligible institutional BitGo clients does not give all institutions immediate access. Clients can also direct rewards to an address separate from the custody address. BitGo said separating the two addresses allows exchange-traded product and exchange-traded fund issuers to record the underlying asset and reward income separately. The announcement did not say that this separation changes the lockup period or maturity terms.
The announcement follows an earlier expansion of BitGo’s ties to the Stacks ecosystem. Stacks says the company first integrated the protocol in 2021, was among the first sBTC signers in 2024, and then added institutional custody and direct sBTC minting in August 2026. In an update dated October 12, Stacks said Bond 2 had absorbed about 500 BTC, with more than 6.7 million STX linked and a target yield of 3% on BTC. In the same update, it reported that two bonds were active out of six that could run in parallel, and that Genesis Bond participant rewards had been paid weekly since September 17. Stacks had said Genesis Bond began on September 10 with four participants, linking 250 BTC at launch. It also said the Proof of Transfer mechanism had distributed more than 4,200 BTC, worth more than $500 million, since January 2021. Stacks allows institutions to register for upcoming lockup periods through its institutional Bitcoin Staking page.
In the stock market, BTGO closed at $5.13 in the November 2, 2026, session, according to EL7 data. That close was from the session before Stacks’ announcement date, and the data provided do not include verified figures for that session’s high or low. A Stacks update on October 12 had said Bond 3 was expected to open near November 10. During the expansion phase, applications to the self-custody institutional track require a minimum of 50 BTC, with approval not guaranteed. Those terms apply to that track as described in the October update; BitGo’s announcement does not say they are requirements for participating in the new service. Interested institutions can register for upcoming lockup periods through Stacks.