what's Zest Protocol?
Zest Protocol is a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform operating on the Stacks blockchain, focused on unlocking Bitcoin's potential through liquidity provision and lending mechanisms. It enables users to deposit Bitcoin-backed assets, such as sBTC, to earn yield via professionally managed lending pools or borrow against their holdings in a non-custodial manner. The protocol emphasizes security by leveraging Stacks' integration with Bitcoin, allowing for overcollateralized loans and perpetual borrowing durations without intermediaries. Key features include the Stacks Market for lending and borrowing STX and related assets, and upcoming Bitcoin Market for cross-chain liquidity using BTC derivatives. Zest also introduces products like BTCz, a yield-bearing token combining Babylon staking with Stacks security, making Bitcoin more composable in DeFi ecosystems while maintaining self-custody and minimizing friction.
Zest Protocol featured in DefiantNews' Bitcoin DeFi docu-series covering BTC borrowing, lending, staking.
Links
x.com/zestprotocolFeatured in DefiantNews' "Beyond Digital Gold" episode 4 docu-series about Bitcoin DeFi, which covers BTC borrowing, lending, staking, Lightning spending, liquidity provision, and yield vaults.
Mentioned as one of the apps building on Stacks alongside Bitflow and Hermetica, with some of these apps receiving seed funding.
Reaches 700 BTC deployed and over $80M TVL for lending and borrowing, recording zero bad debt.
Integrated with Avant Protocol, with most of Avant's exposure deployed into Zest Protocol on Stacks blockchain.
Offers 8 STX reward for depositing at least $1 of USDCx into Zest Protocol, limited to the first 400 participants on February 25, 2026.
According to @bitcoin_yield, the protocol becomes the top Bitcoin yield strategy across all Bitcoin layers fueled by Dual Stacking.
Upgraded DAMM protocol for higher stablecoin borrowing limits, improved capital efficiency with concentrated liquidity, and Circle's USDCx borrow market support.