Mezo, a Bitcoin-native lending protocol, has announced a collaboration with Aerodrome Finance to support trading activity for its token and Bitcoin-backed stablecoin on the Base network. The partnership reflects a broader effort among developers to bring more financial use cases to Bitcoin. It connects Base-based traders with a growing ecosystem of Bitcoin-focused decentralized applications. The move comes as the industry experiments with adapting established DeFi models to Bitcoin infrastructure.
Under the arrangement, Mezo will allocate 2.25% of its MEZO token supply to Aerodrome’s vote-escrow participants, known as veAERO holders. These are users who lock tokens in return for governance rights and rewards. The program is intended to encourage those participants to direct funds into MEZO trading pairs, increasing activity around both the token and its US dollar-backed stablecoin, MUSD. The announcement was made on Thursday.
Aerodrome is a liquidity provider operating on Base, built by the team behind Optimism, a configurable enterprise blockchain infrastructure. By partnering with Aerodrome, Mezo gains access to a large and active DeFi user base on the Base network. Bitcoin-native applications have historically struggled to attract sufficient trading volume, and infrastructure like Aerodrome can help support more consistent activity around new tokens and stablecoins. The collaboration is designed to address that challenge directly.
Mezo allows users to borrow against their Bitcoin holdings and says it has issued more than 2,000 loans to date. The protocol has also facilitated the movement of roughly $23 million in Bitcoin-denominated assets from Ethereum. These figures highlight the platform’s early traction as it seeks to expand its reach through the Aerodrome partnership. The integration with Base is expected to further accelerate that growth.
Bitcoin is increasingly being positioned as a foundational layer for decentralized finance, driven in part by rising institutional participation and long-term holders seeking returns on idle assets. DeFi activity built on Bitcoin has grown notably since 2024, with a rising number of platforms targeting lending, borrowing, and yield strategies on the network. The trend signals a shift in how the broader crypto industry views Bitcoin’s role beyond a store of value. Developers are now actively building financial infrastructure around it.
Several other projects are pursuing similar goals in the Bitcoin DeFi space. Lombard is building Bitcoin-based lending infrastructure and has partnered with Bitwise to allow institutional investors to earn yield and borrow against their Bitcoin holdings. Meanwhile, Hashi has recently launched on the Sui network with early participation from BitGo, Bullish, and FalconX, enabling users to earn yield on Bitcoin through onchain lending and borrowing. These developments collectively point to a maturing ecosystem around Bitcoin-native financial services.
Originally reported by CoinTelegraph.
