FOUNDATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

Staking

The act of locking cryptocurrency or digital assets in a blockchain protocol to support network security, validate transactions, or provide liquidity, in exchange for periodic rewards. Institutional staking products allow clients to earn on-chain yield.

EXAMPLE

Fidelity Digital Assets offers institutional clients access to Ethereum staking yield without requiring them to manage validator node infrastructure directly.

Relevant Roles and Functions

On-chain Role
Chief Blockchain Infrastructure Officer
Head of Blockchain Infrastructure
Function
Blockchain Network Integrations
Node Operations
Smart Contract Infrastructure
Validator Participation
TradFi Equivalent
Core Banking Architecture
Distributed Systems
Payments Infrastructure
Technology

Related Terms

Yield

The return generated from deploying digital assets—through on-chain lending, staking, liquidity provision, or holding yield-bearing tokenized instruments such as tokenized money market funds.

Example

Superstate's tokenized Treasury fund delivers T-bill yield directly on-chain, allowing protocols to hold yield-bearing collateral rather than idle stablecoins.

Digital Asset Custody

The safekeeping and administration of digital assets—including private key management, transaction signing, and regulatory reporting—on behalf of institutional clients. It is widely regarded as the foundational control point for institutional participation in on-chain markets.

Example

Northern Trust's digital asset custody service for tokenized fund shares handles key management, NAV reporting, and regulatory compliance in a single integrated platform.

Validator

A node in a Proof of Stake blockchain network that is responsible for proposing and attesting to new blocks in exchange for staking rewards. Operating validators is one means by which financial institutions can earn yield and participate in network governance.

Example

A regulated bank operating Ethereum validators must implement hardware security module-protected key management to meet the OCC's guidance on digital asset safeguarding.