Babylon Labs and Lombard Protocol are bringing liquid Bitcoin staking to the Sui blockchain, which will make it possible for BTC holders to stake and mint LBTC for DeFi activities. Meanwhile, the corporate adoption of Bitcoin is still steadily increasing as MicroStrategy increased its Bitcoin reserves yet again. Other firms like Semler Scientific and Rumble are also expanding their Bitcoin reserves. In contrast, the Bitcoin mining industry is facing delays as U.S. customs are holding shipments of Bitmain ASIC miners because of regulatory concerns.
Bitcoin Staking Comes to Sui Blockchain
Babylon Labs and Lombard Protocol are set to introduce liquid Bitcoin (BTC) staking to the Sui blockchain, which will be a major milestone for the layer-1 network. Starting in December, Bitcoin holders on Sui will have the ability to stake their BTC through Babylon, which is a Bitcoin layer-2 network, and mint LBTC, Lombard’s liquid staking token (LST). This initiative is designed to bring Bitcoin liquidity to the Sui ecosystem by leveraging LBTC as a collateral asset to enhance decentralized finance (DeFi) activities like lending, borrowing, and trading.
The collaboration will provide the infrastructure for depositing, staking, minting, and bridging BTC to Sui. Lombard’s co-founder, Jacob Phillips, shed some light on the untapped potential of Bitcoin’s $1.8 trillion market cap, and believes in the project’s mission to enable Bitcoin holders to participate in advanced on-chain finance without sacrificing security or liquidity. The Sui blockchain is sometimes referred to as a "Solana killer," and has already attracted $1.4 billion in total value locked (TVL) since its launch in 2023, according to data from DefiLlama.
Sui TVL (Source: DefiLlama)
Bitcoin LSTs, which are tokenized claims on staked Bitcoin, currently hold around $4.5 billion in TVL, with Solv BTC (SolvBTC) leading the pack at $1.5 billion in TVL, followed by Lombard with $1 billion. Unlike Lombard’s LBTC, which is not yet generating staking rewards, some Bitcoin LSTs, like SolvBTC, offer yields of up to 1.2% APR through staking on networks like CoreChain.
This latest development was announced after Solv Protocol’s launch of a Bitcoin LST on Solana in October. This proves that there is certainly a growing demand for yield opportunities in the Bitcoin ecosystem.
MicroStrategy and Semler Bet Big on Bitcoin
Other companies also want their own piece of Bitcoin after its recent success. MicroStrategy increased its Bitcoin holdings yet again after it bought close to 55,000 BTC for $5.4 billion between Nov. 18 and 24 at an average price of $97,862 per coin. This purchase brings the company’s total Bitcoin reserves to 386,700 BTC, which was acquired at a cumulative cost of $21.9 billion and an average price of $56,761 per coin.
More details about the acquisition were shared in a Nov. 25 filing. It is very clear that MicroStrategy is bullish on Bitcoin, especially as its price is closing in on $100,000, driven by rising institutional adoption and optimism surrounding potential pro-crypto policies under the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump.
MicroStrategy funded this latest purchase through proceeds from a private offering of 0% convertible senior notes due 2029, which raised $2.97 billion, and its ongoing at-the-market (ATM) equity program, which generated $2.46 billion from the sale of 5,597,849 shares. These combined sources provided the liquidity for the firm’s aggressive Bitcoin acquisition strategy.
The firm introduced a proprietary performance metric called “Bitcoin Yield,” which measures the percentage change in the ratio of BTC holdings to assumed diluted shares outstanding. By Nov. 24, MicroStrategy reported a BTC Yield of 59.3%, up from 35.2% at the end of the previous quarter.
Semler Scientific, a U.S.-based healthcare company, also expanded its Bitcoin holdings by acquiring 297 BTC for $29.1 million between Nov. 18 and 22. This purchase increased the company’s total Bitcoin reserves to 1,570 BTC at an average price of $75,039 per coin.
Semler Scientific BTC yield (Source: Semler Scientific)
The firm doubled its ATM equity program capacity to $100 million, and generated $50 million in gross proceeds to support its Bitcoin acquisitions. Semler reported a year-to-date BTC Yield of 58.4% as of Nov. 22. Both companies’ actions suggest that there is a growing trend among corporations to adopt Bitcoin as a cornerstone of their financial strategies.
Rumble Joins Corporate Bitcoin Adoption Trend
YouTube alternative Rumble announced plans to allocate a portion of its cash reserves to Bitcoin. The decision was approved by its board of directors, and allows the company to invest up to $20 million in Bitcoin at the discretion of management.
The timing of the purchases will depend on market conditions, Bitcoin prices, and the platform’s financial needs. CEO Chris Pavlovsk teased the move in a social media poll where 93.9% of 43,790 people supported the idea. He believes in Bitcoin’s potential as an inflation hedge and a strategic asset due to its resistance to dilution and increasing adoption under a crypto-friendly U.S. administration.
Rumble also shared that the strategy could be modified or suspended at any time, however, the platform believes in Bitcoin’s role in strategic planning and it is eager to expand into cryptocurrency.
The announcement led to a surge in Rumble’s stock price as shares rose 12.63% during the trading session to $7.31 and gained another 3+% in after-hours trading.
This move places Rumble among a growing number of companies incorporating Bitcoin into their financial strategies. MicroStrategy is still the largest corporate holder. Other firms, including MARA Holdings, Semler Scientific, and Genius Group, have also expanded their Bitcoin reserves recently.
MARA raised $700 million in convertible senior notes to buy more Bitcoin. Genius Group purchased 110 BTC for $10 million and plans to allocate up to 90% of its reserves to Bitcoin.
U.S. Ports Hold Bitmain Mining Rigs
Meanwhile, the Bitcoin mining industry is currently facing some headwinds with regards to equipment. The United States Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP) is holding shipments of Bitmain Antminer ASICs at various U.S. ports of entry, which is causing delays for several Bitcoin mining companies.
According to reports, seven unnamed U.S. mining firms have been waiting for their equipment for as long as two months. The affected shipments include Bitmain’s latest Antminer S21 and T21 series ASICs. Some companies are also incurring large holding fees because of this, some as high as $200,000 for 200 ASICs.
The CBP’s actions seem to be linked to a request from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission Agency. The agency’s Advanced Targeting Unit, which is responsible for identifying high-risk cargo, was reportedly involved in the holds. Industry insiders suggested that the freeze may relate to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Commerce into chip designer Sophgo, a Bitmain affiliate, after chips it ordered in Taiwan were discovered in a Huawei AI processor. Huawei has been under U.S. sanctions since 2019.
Interestingly, ASICs from other Chinese manufacturers are not being held, which raised some questions about the specificity of the action against Bitmain products. Bitmain is a major supplier of crypto mining equipment, and began shipping its Antminer T21 earlier this year. It supplies the vast majority of chips that are used in crypto mining globally. To avoid tariffs, the company established offices outside of China, but still faced accusations of dumping and price-cutting practices.
Although the U.S. continues to enforce sanctions and trade restrictions, Chinese companies like Bitmain are still very deeply embedded in global supply chains and the U.S. Bitcoin mining ecosystem. Some Chinese-owned firms have been actively mining Bitcoin in the United States since China’s 2021 crackdown on domestic crypto mining.
