Why Stacks Is Now Institutional-Grade Bitcoin Infrastructure

For years, institutions respected Bitcoin but didn’t use it. Not because they lacked interest, but because the infrastructure wasn’t there. Bitcoin was treated as static collateral: secure, scarce, and idle. Deploying Bitcoin capital meant tradeoffs institutions weren’t willing to make.

This started changing in 2025.

Stacks crossed from a promising Bitcoin L2 into production ready institutional Bitcoin-infrastructure. Not through roadmaps or pilot programs, but through live integrations with the custody providers, liquidity venues, security platforms, and data providers that institutions already rely on.

Now, operating directly on Bitcoin.

This article covers the institutional Bitcoin infrastructure that now exists on Stacks.

Tier 1 Stablecoin on Stacks with Circle

Circle's xReserve launched with Stacks as a partner, bringing native USDC (USDCx) to Bitcoin.

This is not a wrapped asset. USDCx is fully backed 1:1 by Circle reserves and issued through a compliant framework institutions already use. For the first time, institutions can move between BTC and dollars on Bitcoin rails without compromising on compliance.

That unlocks real treasury management, liquidity provision, and BTC native DeFi strategies.

"Circle's xReserve offering allows blockchains, protocols, apps and services to launch custom stablecoins backed by USDC, and compatible with Circle interoperability protocols for seamless cross-chain liquidity... Great to see this launch on one of Bitcoin's leading L2s Stacks" - Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder & CEO at Circle

Exchange Grade Liquidity from Bitfinex

Institutions need to trade at size. Bitfinex now provides direct liquidity rails into Stacks, enabling large trades, tighter spreads, and market making infrastructure.

This removes one of the biggest blockers to institutional adoption: confidence that positions can be entered and exited without blowing up the market.

Thanks to Bitfinex’ integration of Stacks, STX is now available on every top 15 global exchange. This level of exchange support is a prerequisite for institutions to deploy capital with confidence, ensuring liquidity, price discovery, and operational reliability as Bitcoin becomes productive.

“Adding STX is part of our goal to actively participate in what we believe is a paradigm shift for Bitcoin. As Bitcoin Layers progress towards maturity, we're giving our users early access to this crucial moment.” - Anoush Bhasin, Head of Listings at Bitfinex.

Ongoing Security with Immunefi

Institutions do not assume protocol security. They verify it continuously.

Through Immunefi’s Magnus platform, the Stacks ecosystem runs ongoing, structured security programs with professional researchers, including live bug bounties and coordinated disclosures.

This aligns with how institutions assess risk before deploying capital: through continuous adversarial testing rather than one-time audits.

"We’re excited to bring our expertise to the security of Bitcoin’s evolving infrastructure. sBTC is set to unlock immense opportunities for financial innovation and inclusion…The most elite security researchers will lay the groundwork for the next era of the Bitcoin ecosystem.” - Sajjad Rehman, VP of Revenue at Immunefi

Institutional Custody with BitGo

BitGo now supports BTC and sBTC on Stacks, bringing institutional-grade custody, mutli-sig security and institutional compliance workflows to the Bitcoin DeFi stack.

As an early Stacks Signer and supporter of sBTC, BitGo enables institutions to use Bitcoin productively through Stacks, secured by Bitcoin itself. They can participate using qualified custody and compliance workflows consistent with existing BTC operations.

“BitGo is pleased to support Stacks in expanding their smart contract capabilities and decentralized applications for builders and institutions, alike. We are proud to provide regulated qualified custody and stacking of STX, and we look forward to partnering with them in their future advancements.” - Daniel Du, Sr. Product Manager at BitGo

Seamless Operations with WalletConnect

WalletConnect and Stacks Integration expands access to STX Stacking across Stacks, giving users and institutions more ways to earn and connect securely, including through integrations like Hex Trust. Stacking becomes a native capability inside existing apps.

As the leading connectivity layer for the financial internet, WalletConnect moves billions in value each month and is a critical access point for institutional users.

“Bitcoin is evolving beyond just holding. With this launch, STX holders have a new way to earn directly through Hex Trust, using WalletConnect” - Jess Houlgrave, CEO at WalletConnect. 

Institutional Analytics from Nansen

Nansen brings professional grade data and onchain analytics to Stacks.

Funds can track flows, monitor protocol health, analyze risk, and perform real diligence. Nansen’s integration of Stacks is a strong signal as analytics providers for asset managers and hedge funds don’t integrate with ecosystems that aren’t being used.

“Stacks is unlocking a new era for Bitcoin by enabling programmability and DeFi, and we’re excited to help accelerate that vision.” - CEO and Co-founder of Nansen.

Real Cross Chain Liquidity via Wormhole

Stacks is preparing for a multi chain world. Wormhole is planned to connect Stacks with Ethereum, Solana, and other ecosystems using battle tested infrastructure that has already moved billions in value.

Once live, this will position Stacks as a Bitcoin liquidity aggregation layer, with sBTC serving as a Bitcoin native programmable asset designed for secure, decentralized BTC liquidity without compromising Bitcoin’s core principles.

The integration also enables Bitcoin liquidity from other ecosystems to move into Stacks, where institutions can deploy BTC within a fully integrated, institutional-grade Bitcoin environment offering multiple yield strategies.

"sBTC serves as the most “native to Bitcoin” programmable BTC asset, meeting DeFi’s need for secure, decentralized Bitcoin liquidity without compromising on Bitcoin’s core principles." - Wormhole Article

Why This Matters

Institutional adoption of Bitcoin has accelerated, but infrastructure has lagged behind. Capital flows through custodians, exchanges, and off-chain products, while deploying Bitcoin into productive strategies has remained operationally complex.

This has never been a demand problem. There has been an infrastructure gap.

The highlighted integrations mark a shift. Institutions can now access a complete Bitcoin stack, built around the providers and standards they already use:

• Compliant stablecoin rails
• Cross chain liquidity access
• Exchange grade execution
• Continuous adversarial security
• Institutional custody
• Flexible wallet operations
• Professional analytics

This removes the remaining operational objections to deploying capital on Bitcoin. It’s live. It’s working. And it’s already being used. Bitcoin-native, institutional-grade infrastructure is live on Stacks.

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