Bitcoin staking protocol Babylon receives $15 million from a16z, $BABY surges 15% in response

According to the latest report from Fortune magazine, the Bitcoin staking protocol Babylon announced the completion of a $15 million financing round led by a16z Crypto (Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto division). Inspired by this funding news, the market reacted positively, and Babylon token $BABY surged briefly in response.
(Background recap: After the Babylon airdrop, the community was excited: Were Stanford professors and Wall Street colluding to harvest profits?)
(Additional background: Will the Bitcoin staking protocol Babylon issue tokens? This year, Babylon Chain and multiple staking features are expected to go live.)

According to the latest report from Fortune magazine, the Bitcoin staking protocol Babylon (a blockchain project founded by Stanford University professor David Tse) announced on January 7, 2026, that it completed a $15 million financing round led by a16z Crypto (Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto division). The valuation details of this round have not been fully disclosed, but the company stated that the funds will be used for further protocol development and plans to integrate with lending protocol Aave in Q2 2026, which is expected to start generating revenue.

It is understood that Babylon had previously completed multiple funding rounds between 2023 and 2024, including $70 million (led by Paradigm) and $18 million, with total funding exceeding $90 million.

What is Babylon?

Babylon is a decentralized Bitcoin staking protocol designed to allow Bitcoin holders to directly use BTC as collateral to generate yields and provide security for other proof-of-stake (PoS) chains, without relying on third-party intermediaries. Traditionally, Bitcoin holders wanting to earn yields had to give their BTC to centralized platforms (like Coinbase), convert it into stablecoins or wrapped BTC, and then use lending protocols like Aave. This process causes users to lose control of their private keys and face intermediary risks.

Babylon’s core technology, BTCVaults, offers a more direct alternative: users can lock up Bitcoin for staking, earn yields, and retain self-custody, completely bypassing intermediaries. Founder David Tse stated, “We are building protocols with cutting-edge technology to enable people to achieve their goals directly, making Bitcoin more productive.”

Surges in response

Inspired by this funding news, the market reacted positively, and Babylon token $BABY briefly surged past $0.02, currently at $0.02133, with nearly a 15% increase in the past 24 hours.

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