Sui’s Layer-1 network is preparing to launch Hashi, an institutional protocol that lets Bitcoin holders use their BTC as collateral without moving it off the Bitcoin blockchain. The initiative has already gathered $500 million in capital commitments from over 20 industry partners and aims to tap into an estimated $1 trillion of dormant institutional Bitcoin.
How Hashi works
Instead of bridging Bitcoin to another chain, users lock their BTC in a vault address that lives directly on the Bitcoin network. A 2-of-2 multisig protects this address, requiring signatures from both Hashi’s validators. While the bitcoin remains frozen on Bitcoin, Hashi mints a voucher token called hBTC on the Sui chain, which represents the locked collateral. Applications on Sui can then use hBTC to power lending, borrowing, credit markets and even real-world asset trading. When a user wants to retrieve their bitcoin, the hBTC voucher is burned on Sui, triggering the multisig to release the original BTC back to the holder on the Bitcoin chain.
Backing and partners
The $500 million figure reflects commitments rather than immediate deposits, but the pre-pledged capital is intended to provide deep liquidity from day one. More than twenty firms have joined the coalition, including custodians and infrastructure providers. One of the launch partners, Anchorage Digital, plans to supply stablecoin liquidity to the network and notes that the collaboration marks a paradigm shift for institutional clients seeking to put bitcoin to work while retaining the safeguards they require.
Security and compliance
To satisfy institutional standards, Hashi’s smart contracts have undergone formal verification by the security firm Certora. Additionally, the cryptography underlying its multi-party computation protocol was reviewed by CommonPrefix. These audits are meant to ensure that the system can resist attacks and comply with the risk expectations of large-scale investors.
Why it matters
By allowing Bitcoin to stay on its native chain while being used as collateral, Hashi addresses a long-standing barrier for institutions that want to earn yield or fund real-world expenses such as tuition, property purchases or corporate working capital without relinquishing custody. The protocol targets a vast pool of idle bitcoin, estimated at roughly $1 trillion, and could help shift bitcoin-backed finance from speculative trading toward broader economic activity.
