BitGo has rolled out WalletConnect support for its self-custody hot wallets, aiming to make institutional DeFi activity feel less like a workaround and more like a normal workflow. The company says the integration is live as of Feb. 11, 2026, and enables clients to connect to WalletConnect-enabled dApps across Ethereum, major EVM networks, and Solana—without exporting keys or shifting funds into a browser extension wallet.
What BitGo actually shipped
“At a basic level, BitGo is turning its self-custody wallet into a “connect anywhere” wallet for DeFi—while keeping the controls institutions already rely on. The company says dApp interactions run through BitGo’s existing enterprise security and policy framework, including approvals and audit trails, so teams can keep their internal processes intact while executing onchain. That same “institutional rails” strategy is also showing up on the banking side, where BitGo is helping banks and credit unions offer crypto trading via partners like InvestiFi.
BitGo also says it won’t charge additional BitGo fees for WalletConnect usage (normal network and protocol fees still apply).
How it works
WalletConnect is the bridge that lets a wallet talk to a decentralized app without handing over private keys. BitGo’s pitch is that institutions can now do the usual DeFi actions—swapping, lending, bridging, and more—directly from the BitGo wallet interface, with transaction signing happening inside the BitGo environment rather than through a separate consumer wallet setup.
Chains and scope: where it’s live (and where it isn’t)
BitGo says WalletConnect is now live for self-custody hot wallets and supports Solana plus major EVM-compatible networks including Ethereum, Arbitrum, BNB Chain, Monad, Optimism, and Polygon.
One important limitation: BitGo says WalletConnect is not available for qualified custody “at this time,” and that it will evaluate a custody-grade version separately.
Security reality check
BitGo frames this as “permissioned by policy”: WalletConnect activity remains governed by BitGo’s policy engine and access controls. But the company also flags the obvious risk: DeFi and Web3 use inherently involves smart contract and dApp-specific risk, and clients should interact only with trusted applications.
Why it matters for crypto
- This lowers a real barrier for institutions: DeFi access without migrating funds to consumer wallet tooling or weakening operational controls.
- Wallet connectivity is becoming infrastructure. If institutional wallets can plug into dApps safely, onchain markets get a cleaner path to professional capital.
- The “not for qualified custody (yet)” line matters: the biggest shift would be extending this model to custody-grade workflows, if BitGo goes there.
What to watch next
- Whether BitGo ships a custody-grade WalletConnect version and what guardrails come with it.
- Which dApps become the early “institutional defaults” once connectivity is frictionless—DEXs, lending markets, and bridges are the obvious first wave.
- How institutions operationalize smart-contract risk: policy templates, allowlists, transaction review, and audit processes will decide adoption speed.
Source: BitGo Blog – BitGo Introduces WalletConnect for Self-Custody Wallets