Chainlink CustodySync lets institutions tap DeFi lending without leaving custody

Anchorage Digital Bank is the first launch partner for a system that links qualified custody records to on-chain lending markets Institutions have long wanted two things that rarely coexist: the safety of a regulated custodian and the liquidity of DeFi lending markets. On October 26, 2026, Chainlink announced CustodySync, a product built to let them have both. The pitch is simple. Institutions can borrow on-chain against digital assets that never leave qualified custody. For compliance teams that have spent years saying no to DeFi, that changes the conversation. How CustodySync works CustodySync is an integration layer. It connects the collateral management systems that qualified custodians already run with lending markets that live on-chain. The first custodian on board is Anchorage Digital Bank, the first federally chartered digital asset bank in the US. Anchorage is pairing CustodySync with its own Atlas Collateral Management product, which handles collateral for loans. Under the hood, the setup leans on three Chainlink services: Proof of Reserve, Data Feeds, and the Chainlink Runtime Environment. Together, they keep custody records and lending protocols in agreement on balances...