BitGo, through its regulated subsidiary BitGo Bank & Trust, has launched direct institutional access to three leading decentralized finance protocols — Aave, Spark, and Tesseract — by integrating Narval’s institutional gateway. The move allows eligible clients to participate in on-chain markets without transferring assets out of BitGo’s qualified custody environment, addressing a key barrier for regulated entities seeking DeFi exposure.
The infrastructure leverages Narval’s delegated wallet connection protocol and an embedded software development kit (SDK) that links DeFi applications to BitGo’s custody and wallet systems. Before any transaction reaches the custody approval workflow, Narval’s verification engine decodes the transaction into human-readable details, checking the protocol, contract address, and intended action against internal client policies. This design aims to eliminate the risk of blind signing — approving transactions without full visibility — while maintaining traditional governance controls within the on-chain ecosystem.
BitGo CEO Mike Belshe emphasized that institutions want DeFi access but require robust checks. “The integration combines transaction verification processes and authorized access lists within the regulated custody framework,” he said, noting the solution helps clients engage with approved protocols securely.
Aave opens up liquid lending markets where institutions can supply assets or borrow against collateral. Spark provides savings and credit markets tailored to stablecoins and Ether, using programmable vaults and layered risk controls. Tesseract offers managed yield through segregated client vaults built on Fusion by IPOR, operated under MiCA authorization by Tesseract Investment Oy and supervised by Finland’s FIN-FSA. Its environment holds ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and SOC 2 Type II certifications.
The launch follows broader industry efforts to bridge regulated custody with DeFi, such as MoonPay Trade’s institutional access to multiple protocols and OKX’s integration with BitGo’s off-exchange settlement. BitGo plans to progressively add more verified protocols to the Narval gateway, signaling a custody-first expansion strategy for institutional DeFi.
