Stacks (STX) Launches Bitcoin Staking with 21shares, HashKey Cloud, UTXO Management, and Others

21shares, HashKey Cloud, UTXO Management, and Sypher Capital become the first institutional participants to bond Bitcoin on Stacks and earn BTC-denominated rewards while keeping their BTC on Bitcoin L1

NEW YORK, NY, September 11, 2026 — The Stacks ecosystem today announced that Bitcoin Staking is live, with 21shares, HashKey Cloud, UTXO Management (Nakamoto Inc. subsidiary), and Sypher Capital participating in the Genesis Bond, the first institutional bonding period for Bitcoin Staking on Stacks. A total of ~250 BTC was bonded at launch, with the first weekly BTC rewards expected to be distributed on September 17.

The initial bond is intentionally limited in size, allowing participating institutions to use Bitcoin Staking in a live environment before capacity expands in future bonding periods. The launch introduces a new way for institutions to earn BTC-denominated rewards. Institutions can now keep their Bitcoin under their own keys on Bitcoin L1, using STX as the staking capacity asset that unlocks a target 3% APY in BTC-denominated yield. 

The launch participants span the institutional Bitcoin market. UTXO Management, a subsidiary of Nasdaq-listed Nakamoto Inc., is Bitcoin-native asset manager; 21shares is one of the world’s leading issuers of crypto exchange-traded products; HashKey Cloud (HKEX: 3887) operates regulated digital asset infrastructure and Asia’s largest institutional staking provider by assets under management; and Sypher Capital allocates institutional capital across the digital asset ecosystem. Each entered through its own diligence, custody, and risk process, an early signal that Bitcoin Staking fits the standards institutional committees apply to new yield sources.