Lombard (BARD): how it works, supply and reviews
In short
- Type
- Issuer of Bitcoin-backed tokens (LBTC, BTC.b) on Ethereum, Base and other chains
- Maximum supply
- BARD total supply 1,000,000,000
- Risks and caveats
- Custody relies on trust in a permissioned consortium of 14 institutions; compromise of 10 or more could authorise unauthorised actions.
- Checked
- 31 October 2026
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Key facts
- Ticker
- BARD
- Official site
- lombard.finance
Key facts checked on 31 October 2026 against official sources.
What is Lombard
Lombard is a Bitcoin finance protocol that issues Bitcoin-backed tokens for use on other blockchains. LBTC is a yield-bearing token backed by deposited BTC, now earning through a covered-call options strategy run by Bitwise; BTC.b is a plain 1:1 Bitcoin token. BARD is the protocol's native token.
Network and consensus
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Type | Issuer of Bitcoin-backed tokens (LBTC, BTC.b) on Ethereum, Base and other chains |
| Consensus | Lombard Ledger: a Cosmos appchain on CometBFT run by the Security Consortium |
| Deposits | BTC deposits need 6 Bitcoin confirmations and are checked by the Consortium and by Bascule before minting |
| Redemption | LBTC is burned and native BTC is sent within up to 10 days |
| Cross-chain | Transfers use Chainlink CCIP and need approval from both CCIP and the Consortium |
Supply and issuance
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Maximum supply | BARD total supply 1,000,000,000 |
| Initial distribution | BARD: ecosystem 35%, core contributors 25%, foundation 20%, early investors 20% |
| Unlocks | 22.5% of BARD circulated at launch; the rest unlocks over 48 months |
| LBTC yield | LBTC is non-rebasing; yield raises its BTC exchange rate; targets 2.5% net APY in BTC terms, not guaranteed |
| Staking rewards | BARD staking closed on 17 September 2026; no rewards after 1 October 2026 |
What BARD is used for
- LBTC: Bitcoin exposure on other chains that earns BTC-denominated yield, usable as DeFi collateral
- BTC.b: a 1:1 non-yield Bitcoin token for trading and short-term positions
- BARD: native protocol token; its staking programme closed in September 2026
Who develops and governs Lombard
- Legal entity
- LBTC issuer: LF Operations Inc. (Panama); backing may be held via LF (BVI) Ltd.
- Foundation
- Lombard Finance Foundation (formerly Liquid Bitcoin Foundation), Cayman Islands
- Governance
- 14-member Security Consortium; new members admitted by Consortium vote after KYB
- Yield manager
- Bitwise Investment Manager, LLC runs the covered-call strategy with trading authority only
- Open source
- Contracts verified on block explorers; code on GitHub (lombard-finance)
History
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Lombard is founded. |
| October 2025 | Lombard acquires BTC.b, originally launched by Ava Labs. |
| 17 August 2026 | LBTC stops staking with Babylon (13 August 2026) and switches to a Bitwise-managed covered-call strategy from 17 August 2026. |
| 16 September 2026 | Native minting and redemption end on Berachain, Katana, Sonic, Starknet and TAC. |
| 17 September 2026 | BARD staking closes. |
Security and audits
- Audited by OpenZeppelin, Halborn, Veridise, Sherlock, ABDK and Cantina.
- Immunefi bug bounty with rewards up to $500,000 for critical smart contract bugs.
- Mints need signatures from both the Consortium and the independent Bascule Drawbridge; contract upgrades sit behind a 24-hour timelock.
Security incidents
No security incident is recorded in the sources checked on 31 October 2026 (the company’s own channels and incident databases): defillama.com/hacks, hacked.slowmist.io/search, rekt.news/leaderboard, lombard.finance/blog, docs.lombard.finance/learn/transparency/risks, docs.lombard.finance/learn/security/audits, docs.lombard.finance/learn/security/bug-bounty
Official BARD contracts
| Network | Contract address |
|---|---|
| Ethereum | 0x8236a87084f8B84306f72007F36F2618A5634494 |
| Ethereum | 0xB0F70C0bD6FD87dbEb7C10dC692a2a6106817072 |
| Base | 0xecAc9C5F704e954931349Da37F60E39f515c11c1 |
Full list per chain on the Lombard smart contracts page; several chains are deprecated for native minting since 16 September 2026.
Risks and caveats
- Custody relies on trust in a permissioned consortium of 14 institutions; compromise of 10 or more could authorise unauthorised actions.
- Up to 60% of LBTC backing is in a covered-call strategy that can lose value in sharp Bitcoin rallies and yield below target.
- Redemptions can take up to 10 days; the yield strategy and direct mint and redeem are closed to US and UK persons.
- LBTC trades on secondary markets and can diverge from its BTC exchange rate during stress.
Official links
- Website: www.lombard.finance
- Docs: docs.lombard.finance
- Security Consortium: docs.lombard.finance/learn/security/consortium-members
- Smart contracts: docs.lombard.finance/learn/transparency/smart-contracts
- Source code: github.com/lombard-finance
- Blog: www.lombard.finance/blog
Questions and answers
What is Lombard LBTC?
LBTC is a yield-bearing, non-rebasing token backed by BTC deposited with Lombard; its yield now comes from a covered-call strategy managed by Bitwise.
Who holds the bitcoin behind LBTC?
A liquidity buffer is held by Lombard's 14-member Security Consortium (10 of 14 signatures needed); up to 60% sits at Anchorage Digital Bank and Kraken in segregated Lombard-owned accounts.
Is LBTC still staked on Babylon?
No. LBTC backing was staked to Babylon until 13 August 2026; from 17 August 2026 its yield comes from Bitwise's covered-call strategy.
What is the supply of BARD?
BARD has a total supply of 1 billion tokens; 22.5% circulated at launch and the rest unlocks over 48 months.
Has Lombard been hacked?
Lombard states it has not had a security incident resulting in loss of user funds.
Sources
- Lombard — Home
- Lombard Docs — Overview
- Lombard Docs — Assets
- Lombard Docs — Architecture
- Lombard Docs — Consortium members
- Lombard Docs — Tokenomics
- Lombard Docs — Foundation
- Lombard Docs — Risks
- Lombard Docs — Audits
- Lombard Docs — Bug bounty
- Lombard Docs — Smart contracts
- Lombard — LBTC Product Terms
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