Lombard: Unlocking the Onchain Capital Market for Bitcoin

What Is Lombard?

(Source: Lombard_Finance)

While Bitcoin is widely recognized as digital gold, Lombard takes it a step further by transforming BTC from a dormant asset into a catalyst powering the entire DeFi ecosystem. The native token, $BARD, forms the economic backbone of this system, enabling protocol governance, network security, resource allocation, and user participation—opening a new chapter for on-chain Bitcoin finance.

Expert Team and Vision

Lombard was founded in 2024 by a core team of professionals from organizations such as Polychain, Coinbase, Ripple, Maple, and Argent. These experts bring deep expertise in crypto finance, engineering, and investment, supported by leading DeFi protocols, exchanges, and institutional investors. The project’s mission is clear:

• Establish Bitcoin as the engine of on-chain liquidity, much like how Circle and Tether drive the stablecoin ecosystem.
• Create a liquidity flywheel, allowing BTC to generate a self-sustaining financial cycle on-chain.
• Accelerate Bitcoin’s widespread adoption in DeFi through decentralized infrastructure.

LBTC: Breakthroughs and Impact

Lombard’s flagship innovation, LBTC, is a liquid staked Bitcoin token. In just 92 days, LBTC’s total value locked (TVL) surpassed $1 billion, injecting over $2 billion in liquidity across 12 blockchains and setting a new record as the fastest-growing yield-bearing token in crypto history. Today, more than 80% of LBTC is actively deployed in DeFi protocols, propelling platforms like Aave, Morpho, Maple, Pendle, Etherfi, and EigenLayer to integrate Bitcoin into their core strategies—strengthening BTC’s role in the DeFi landscape.

Lombard Ledger and Security Framework

Beyond asset tokenization, Lombard launched the dedicated Lombard Ledger—a Layer-1 blockchain for managing both on-chain and off-chain assets. Its robust security architecture features:

• Security Consortium: Industry leaders including Galaxy, DCG, OKX, Wintermute, Amber, Antpool, and F2pool collaborate to provide high-assurance validation.
• Multi-signature and time-lock mechanisms: Mitigate single points of failure and reduce governance risk.
• Byzantine Fault Tolerance: Guarantees complete transaction transparency and immutability.

Together, these designs secure LBTC and $BARD, boosting user confidence in Bitcoin-based financial applications.

A New Era in Bitcoin Staking

Previously, Bitcoin lacked a truly decentralized and secure staking solution. The emergence of Babylon has changed this landscape. With Babylon’s Bitcoin staking protocol, users delegate BTC to Finality Providers, earning yield without custody or wrapping. Lombard plays a critical role:

• Phase 1: As the largest Finality Provider, Lombard manages over 40% of the staking volume.
• Phase 2: Partners with Figment, Galaxy, Kiln, and P2P to jointly operate multiple independent Finality Providers, ensuring both security and decentralization.

This model introduces sustainable yield for Bitcoin and reinforces its position as the security backbone for modular blockchains.

Tokenomics

The $BARD token has a fixed supply of 1 billion and is designed for versatility:

• Governance: Token holders participate directly in protocol governance, including validator selection, fee structures, and product planning.
• Security: Staking $BARD strengthens cross-chain security, leveraging platforms like Chainlink CCIP and Symbiotic.
• Ecosystem Support: Funds are allocated for R&D, partnerships, and marketing initiatives.
• Utility: Token holders receive priority access and enhanced features within the Lombard ecosystem.

Token Allocation Model

To ensure both fairness and sustainable growth, $BARD is distributed as follows:

• 35% Community & Ecosystem: Incentivizes users, partners, and developers to drive ecosystem expansion.
• 25% Core Team & Contributors: Rewards builders and developers for their contributions.
• 20% Liquid Bitcoin Foundation (LBF): Serves as a pool for liquidity and resource allocation.
• 20% Early Investors: Provides the foundation for project launch and initial support.

(Source: lombard.finance/blog)

The project will gradually vest all tokens over four years to maintain market stability and align community interests.

Start spot trading BARD now: https://www.gate.com/trade/BARD_USDT

Conclusion

Lombard’s mission extends beyond positioning Bitcoin as a store of value. It aims to establish BTC as the liquidity foundation of DeFi. The roadmap includes expanding LBTC across additional protocols, setting cross-chain asset management standards with Lombard Ledger, and attracting more institutions and developers. As development accelerates, Lombard is well-positioned to drive the next wave of Bitcoin DeFi innovation.