Anchorage announces custody support for Bitcoin L2 Stacks

Digital asset bank Anchorage has taken a significant step towards expanding its institutional custody services to the Bitcoin layer-2 ecosystem with its partnership with Stacks.

Stacks (STX) is a leading L2 solution on Bitcoin (BTC) that recently reached a major milestone with the Nakamoto upgrade. This partnership makes Stacks the first platform to integrate Anchorage Digital Bank NA, giving STX holders access to custody services.

Anchorage Digital announced on September 4 that it has added crypto custody support for STX, marking its official entry into the Bitcoin L2 ecosystem.

“Layer 2s like Stacks are advancing a new vision for the Bitcoin ecosystem, and institutions are taking notice. As the crypto ecosystem continues to expand, we are committed to providing safe, secure, and regulated access to innovative networks like Stacks. We are pleased to offer qualified custody access for Stacks through Anchorage Digital Bank NA.”

Nathan McCauley, CEO and co-founder of Anchorage Digital

Growing Bitcoin L2 ecosystem

Bitcoin continues to dominate the market as the leading digital asset, with institutional demand increasing in recent months. Some of this recognition and demand has come amid new opportunities through layer-2 networks, a market ecosystem within Bitcoin that experts predict is a major opportunity.

Leading venture capital firms have backed many Bitcoin L2 projects. According to a recent report, 42.4% of investments in the L2 space, or more than $94.6 million, went to projects building Bitcoin L2 solutions in the second quarter of 2024.

As more projects look to increase Bitcoin’s scalability and expand its utility, the market is eyeing new use cases. Stacks, which launched its mainnet in 2021, is one of the projects that experts say could unlock an ecosystem with an estimated $800 billion in latent capital.

The project’s Nakamoto upgrade is crucial to unlocking decentralized finance applications in Bitcoin. The sBTC token will be crucial in Bitcoin DeFi, gaming, and other applications.