Key Insights:
- Coinbase expands staking to Solana, Cardano, and Sui
- Figment integration boosts institutional staking security
- Institutional demand for crypto staking keeps accelerating
- Coinbase strengthens role as bridge for traditional finance
Coinbase Prime, the institutional arm of the leading U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, has entered a significant partnership with Figment, a company managing over $18 billion in staked assets. The deal aims to bring institutional staking services to high-performance blockchain networks, including Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), and Sui (SUI), alongside other Proof of Stake (PoS) blockchains.
This collaboration builds on an earlier launch in 2024, which saw the integration of Ethereum (ETH) staking, resulting in over $2 billion in staked assets. Coinbase Prime’s customers, including institutions, can now take advantage of Figment’s infrastructure to stake assets in multiple PoS networks while maintaining custody within the Coinbase platform. The seamless integration simplifies staking and trading, enhancing the overall user experience.
Figment’s infrastructure powers the back-end of the staking services, enabling clients to securely delegate tokens for staking without transferring them outside the exchange. This process allows for greater flexibility and ensures that the assets remain under Coinbase Prime’s institutional-grade security measures. As a result, clients can more easily manage staking, trading, and financial activities through one unified interface.
Institutional Demand for Staking Grows
The new offering comes at a time when institutional interest in staking is on the rise. Recently, Bitwise Asset Management announced plans to launch a Solana Staking ETF (BSOL) on the New York Stock Exchange, signaling growing institutional engagement in blockchain staking services.
As institutional investors look to gain exposure to blockchain-based assets, this partnership enables them to do so with minimal operational complexity. By integrating Figment’s staking technology, Coinbase Prime provides its clients with secure and efficient access to a wide range of blockchain networks, further solidifying the exchange’s position as a key player in the institutional crypto market.
Expanding Institutional Services
This move is part of Coinbase’s broader strategy to expand its institutional offerings. In a separate development, Coinbase recently entered into a partnership with Citigroup to explore stablecoin-based solutions for corporate payments, further cementing its commitment to driving innovation in the financial sector. Coinbase Prime’s latest initiative with Figment aligns with this vision by providing financial institutions with the tools needed to engage with digital assets in a secure and user-friendly manner.
Simultaneously, Coinbase’s CEO, Brian Armstrong, expressed confidence that the U.S. crypto regulatory environment would soon receive clearer guidelines, especially regarding digital asset custody, stablecoin issuance, and trading. This development comes amidst ongoing discussions with lawmakers and industry leaders about regulatory frameworks for crypto markets.
