Bitcoin DeFi protocol Lombard launches BARD token community sale valued at $450 million!

The DeFi protocol Lombard behind the Bitcoin liquidity rights token LBTC announced the launch of a community presale for its native token BARD on the Buidlpad platform, with a Fully Diluted Valuation of up to 450 million USD. At the same time, Lombard has also established the Liquid Bitcoin Foundation to create governance and funding mechanisms for the on-chain development of the Bitcoin Capital Market.

BARD Community Sale Details

Lombard co-founder Jacob Phillips revealed to The Block that this community sale will allocate 1.5% of the total supply of BARD, raising $6.75 million.

KYC and subscription time: Opens on August 26 at 12:00 UTC and closes on August 29 at 11:59 UTC

Investment period: September 1 to September 2

Settlement and Refund: September 4, 14:00 UTC

Participation Method: Use stablecoins valued at 1 dollar, BNB, or LBTC

Priority: LBTC holders, existing Lombard users, and creators and educators who participated in the Lombard/Buidlpad promotional activities before KYC (10% of sales reserved)

Phillips has not disclosed the total supply of the token or the TGE (Token Generation Event) date, only stating that it will be announced in the coming weeks to months.

Liquid Bitcoin Foundation: Governance and Ecosystem Funding

Alongside the release of BARD, Lombard established the Liquid Bitcoin Foundation, responsible for:

· Protocol Development and Upgrades

· Ecological partnership

· Research and Public Goods Funding

· Ecosystem Business Project Funding

The foundation will become the core institution for the long-term governance of Lombard and the development of Bitcoin on-chain capital markets.

Lombard Ecosystem and LBTC Layout

Lombard's core product LBTC is a yield-bearing Bitcoin token, with a total locked value (TVL) of approximately $1.5 billion, integrated with protocols such as Aave, Etherfi, and Pendle, and secured by an alliance of 14 digital asset companies including Wintermute.

Surrounding LBTC, Lombard has built a full-end infrastructure:

Security Layer: Proprietary Blockchain

Middleware: SDK for embedding BTC yield in large CEX exchanges

Cross-chain wrapper: such as BTCK on Katana

Distribution tools: vaults and aggregators, bringing Bitcoin into on-chain yield strategies

Phillips stated, "Lombard is building a comprehensive infrastructure to accelerate the on-chain development of the Bitcoin capital market."

Financing Background and Market Position

Lombard was established in 2024, having raised 17 million dollars in a seed round financing, led by Polychain Capital, with participation from Franklin Templeton and others.

Buidlpad, which handles the sale of BARD, was founded by Erick Zhang, who is also the manager of Nomad Capital, an investor in Lombard. Buidlpad's competitors include Echo launched by Jordan Fish (Cobie) and Legion incubated by Delphi Labs.

Market Significance and Outlook

The launch of BARD and the establishment of the Liquid Bitcoin Foundation mark Lombard's transition from a single product to a complete Bitcoin Decentralized Finance ecosystem.

To investors: The BARD community sale offers early participation opportunities.

Regarding the Bitcoin ecosystem: LBTC and comprehensive infrastructure will drive the on-chain BTC capital market.

Regarding the DeFi market: Lombard's model may become an example of the combination of Bitcoin L2 and yield-generating assets.

Conclusion

Lombard initiates the BARD community sale with a valuation of $450 million, not only as a token issuance but also as an important step in the strategic upgrade of the Bitcoin DeFi ecosystem. With the operation of the Liquid Bitcoin Foundation and the expansion of the LBTC ecosystem, Lombard is expected to occupy a core position in the on-chain wave of the Bitcoin capital market.