Jersey City, New Jersey, USA, May 28th, 2026, Chainwire
Institutional Bitcoin holders can now earn BTC-denominated yield without leaving Bitcoin.
Stacks Labs and UTXO Management, the Bitcoin-native asset management subsidiary of Nakamoto Inc. (NASDAQ: NAKA), today announced that UTXO will be an inaugural participant for Bitcoin Staking on Stacks, deploying a portion of its existing BTC holdings into the protocol. This makes UTXO among the first institutional Bitcoin managers to pursue Bitcoin-denominated yield while retaining full custody of its Bitcoin on the base layer.
In Bitcoin Staking, participants form “protocol bonds” by pairing a BTC timelock on Bitcoin with a corresponding STX lock on Stacks for a 6-month bonding period, earning a target BTC yield while their Bitcoin remains on the base layer under participant-controlled keys. Yield is generated through Stacks' Proof-of-Transfer (PoX) consensus mechanism, in which miners bid BTC to compete for Stacks block rewards; that miner-paid BTC is then distributed to eligible staking participants. STX locks determine each participant's staking capacity.
PoX has operated in production since January 2021 and has distributed more than 4,200 BTC to participants to date. The initial rollout of Bitcoin Staking is a bootstrapping period stewarded by the Stacks Endowment, expected to go live later this year.
“Bitcoin Staking on Stacks provides something that hasn't existed before: a way to earn BTC-denominated yield while Bitcoin never leaves the base layer,” said Tyler Evans, Chief Investment Officer of Nakamoto and UTXO. “Companies can decide to put their balance sheet to work without compromising the properties that make Bitcoin valuable in the first place, and we are excited to try out the product at UTXO.”
UTXO’s participation opens a new market for Stacks - institutional Bitcoin capital seeking self-custodial BTC yield - and lays the foundation for the next wave of Bitcoin-native financial primitives, including liquid staking tokens, lending markets, and structured yield products built around productive BTC.
“Bitcoin Staking turns the largest pool of dormant capital in crypto into productive capital — without compromising on self-custody or settlement," said Muneeb Ali, Stacks Founder. "UTXO, the asset management arm of one of the largest Bitcoin-native enterprises, signals something important: institutional Bitcoin is ready to move, and Stacks is where it goes.”
The top 100 Bitcoin treasury companies hold over 1.2 million BTC, roughly 5% of total supply, valued at at approximately $87.6 billion. As these companies face growing investor pressure to make their balance sheets productive, Bitcoin Staking on Stacks offers a path to turn the largest pool of dormant capital in crypto into yield-bearing positions. To learn more, users can visit stacks.co/bitcoin-staking.
About UTXO Management
UTXO Management is a Bitcoin-focused asset management firm led by co-founder and CIO Tyler Evans. In February 2026, UTXO was acquired by Bitcoin-focused holding company Nakamoto Inc. (NASDAQ: NAKA), led by CEO David Bailey, a UTXO co-founder.
About Stacks
Stacks is the leading Bitcoin layer by BTC deployed, providing infrastructure for a growing range of Bitcoin-native applications. The network enables Bitcoin-native financial applications, from lending and borrowing to autonomous AI agents, all settled with Bitcoin finality. Stacks Labs, a wholly owned subsidiary of Stacks Endowment, maintains the Stacks blockchain and builds Bitcoin products. Users can learn more at stacks.co.
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Stacks Labs
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