Babylon secures $5B in staked Bitcoin, partners with Aave for BTC lending

Babylon, a Bitcoin staking protocol, has surpassed $5 billion in total value locked, with about 56,853 BTC staked and peak TVL above $6 billion. The article highlights Babylon’s partnership with Aave, which allows users to borrow stablecoins against native Bitcoin collateral without wrapping or bridging BTC, expanding Bitcoin’s utility while keeping custody on-chain. It also notes Babylon’s BABY token market cap of roughly $52 million to $55 million versus the protocol’s multi-billion-dollar TVL, suggesting a large valuation gap. The story is bullish for BTCFi adoption and for Bitcoin’s role as productive collateral, though it flags smart contract, slashing, and protocol-design risks.