HashKey Cloud backs Stacks’ Genesis Bond to prove institutional appetite for native Bitcoin yield

Stacks founder Muneeb Ali said on Aug. 27 via X that HashKey Cloud will deploy Bitcoin in Stacks, making the Asian infrastructure provider the second institution announced for the network’s Genesis Bond pilot.HashKey will time-lock BTC on Bitcoin, retain the keys, and pair the position with STX worth roughly 5% of the committed Bitcoin.Retaining custody of the principal does not make the yield native to Bitcoin. Stacks targets about 3% annualized from BTC committed by its miners, so payouts depend on STX and Stacks miner economics and are therefore variable.HashKey’s allocation was not disclosed, while the total BTC committed is expected to become visible on-chain when the bond begins around Sept. 10.BTC stays on Bitcoin while the return depends on StacksUnder the native-BTC protocol bond, a participant places Bitcoin in a time-locked output on Bitcoin's base layer and retains the keys. The asset stays outside a lending agreement, wrapper or third-party custody arrangement. It remains immobile during the bond unless the participant uses the early-exit path.An early exit returns the BTC principal and ends the remaining yield, and the paired STX stays locked for the full term, so the...