Sui is entering the Bitcoin staking market through partnerships with Babylon Labs and Lombard Protocol.

The collaboration between Sui (SUI), Babylon and Lombard targets the $1.8 trillion Bitcoin (BTC) market, with staking a major attraction for users. Tapping into Bitcoin liquidity will see Sui grow its decentralized finance ecosystem, with BTC holders staking their coins on Babylon.

BTC stakers will receive Lombard’s liquid staking token LBTC, which will be natively minted on Sui.

Starting in December, Sui will offer BTC staking opportunities, introducing LBTC to its growing user base. According to a Nov. 25 announcement, the partnership is expected to strengthen Sui’s DeFi ecosystem by enhancing lending, borrowing, and trading activities. This initiative seeks to tap into Bitcoin’s vast liquidity while driving growth in DeFi adoption on Sui.

The collaboration also involves Cubist, a hardware-backed key management platform providing a low-latency multi-chain signer. Cubist supports over $1 billion in non-custodial Babylon staking and BTC collateral on Lombard.

“Bitcoin’s $1.8 trillion market capitalization represents immense untapped potential,” Jacob Phillips, co-founder of Lombard, said. “Together, we are building a future where Bitcoin holders can fully participate in the next generation of on-chain finance without compromising security or liquidity.”

Sui, launched in 2023, is rapidly growing within the DeFi space. Data from DeFiLlama shows the network currently holds $1.7 billion in total value locked. Meanwhile, the SUI token has surged more than 380% over the past year, hitting an all-time high of $3.92 on Nov. 17.