Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken today announced the launch of Bitcoin (BTC) staking through a new integration with the Babylon Bitcoin staking protocol.

The integration enables Kraken clients to earn passive rewards on their BTC without bridging, wrapping or lending it out.

Beginning today, Kraken clients can choose to stake their Bitcoin directly from Kraken through an integration with the Babylon Bitcoin staking protocol. The BTC is locked in a vault on the native Bitcoin chain and delegated to secure Proof of Stake networks via the Babylon protocol. Staked Bitcoin rewards are paid in BABY, the native token for Babylon Genesis, the first L1 network to be supercharged by Bitcoin.

“A substantial amount of Bitcoin currently sits idle on our exchange, representing a significant opportunity cost for clients and a missed opportunity for the broader ecosystem,” said Mark Greenberg, Global Head of Consumer. “With this launch, clients can now earn a return on their BTC while also enabling emerging PoS blockchains to benefit from the economic weight of Bitcoin in order to validate transactions and bolster the security of their networks.”

“Kraken’s integration with the Babylon Bitcoin staking protocol shows how trust-minimized, Bitcoin staking can work at scale,” said Clayton Menzel, Head of Business Development at Babylon Labs. “By anchoring staked BTC on the native chain and delegating it to PoS networks, Kraken clients can finally earn rewards without bridges or wrappers, helping preserve Bitcoin’s unmatched security and sovereignty. This launch channels Bitcoin’s economic gravity into securing the next wave of PoS ecosystems and marks a major step toward a truly BTC-native DeFi landscape.”

Holders’ staked BTC never leaves the Bitcoin blockchain. The staking mechanism is governed by Bitcoin scripts, and staking rewards are handled by on-chain logic on Babylon Genesis, publicly verifiable by users and third parties. The BTC staking protocol also includes cryptographic safeguards to deter and penalize malicious behaviors. Clients can unstake their BTC at any time, with a ~7-day unbonding period before funds are available for withdrawal.

The BTC staking product is available starting today across all Kraken platform interfaces, including Kraken and Kraken Pro.