Lombard launches Bitcoin Smart Accounts in a private-client pilot

What happened

Lombard announced that Bitcoin Smart Accounts were live in pilot with select custodian clients. The product recognizes BTC retained in an existing custody account as collateral, issues BTC.b, and uses Morpho as lending infrastructure.

What changed

A new pilot issuance and collateral route connected custodied or self-custodied BTC to on-chain lending without the standard asset-transfer flow described in the existing BTC.b diligence record.

What did not change

The product was not publicly available, and the notice did not provide deployed contract addresses, named launch custodians, exact Morpho market addresses, complete legal terms, or evidence that Ketju's existing BTC.b or Morpho approvals extend to this route.

Confirmed

• Lombard dated the announcement 2026-02-11 and described the product as live in pilot with select clients.
• The designated custody account recognizes locked BTC and issues a receipt token identified as BTC.b.
• Lombard identified Morpho as the launch lending infrastructure.
• The described architecture uses partially signed Bitcoin transactions and timelocks to create emulated covenants.

Still open

• The exact custodians, eligible clients, contracts, Morpho markets, oracle configuration, loan-to-value terms, liquidation path, fees, and legal documentation were not disclosed.
• It was not established how Smart Account-issued BTC.b integrates with existing BTC.b reserve attestations, redemption mechanics, fungibility, and Security Consortium controls.
• Public availability was expected in Q1 2026 but was not established by this event record.

What it means for an advisor

• Review the Lombard BTC.b memo before treating Smart Account-issued BTC.b as equivalent to the previously reviewed mint and custody route.
• Require reserve, lock-enforcement, redemption, liquidation, oracle, legal-title, and custodian evidence for this issuance path.
• The Morpho approval is limited to reviewed Steakhouse-curated USDC exposure and must not be extended to an unidentified Bitcoin Smart Account market.