The institutional adoption of digital asset staking reached new heights in 2024, and Figment stood at the forefront of this transformation. As we close out a landmark year, our growth to 700 institutional clients and over $15 billion in assets under stake reflects the increasing sophistication and scale of the staking ecosystem.
This year marked several pivotal developments for Figment. We expanded our network coverage significantly, launching support for eight new protocols including strategic entries into Bitcoin Layer 2 solutions like Stacks, CORE, and Babylon. Our commitment to institutional-grade infrastructure was further validated through new partnerships with major custodians, exchanges, and financial institutions, including Tungsten, Robinhood, and MarketVector.
Beyond infrastructure, 2024 saw Figment deepen its regulatory engagement and industry leadership. As a member of key industry groups like the Crypto Council for Innovation and the Blockchain Security Standards Council, we’ve worked tirelessly to shape the regulatory landscape while maintaining our unwavering focus on security and compliance. This dedication to institutional-grade service was reinforced through our successful SOC 2 certification and setting new standards for operational excellence in the staking industry.
Institutional ETH Staking Increases Demands for Compliance and Performance
As Ethereum staking matures, institutional demands have grown increasingly sophisticated. Throughout 2024, Figment has evolved its ETH staking infrastructure to meet these advancing needs while maintaining our unwavering commitment to security and compliance.
Figment’s steadfast commitment to OFAC-compliant relay usage sets us apart in the industry. We’ve maintained this standard since inception, providing institutions with the regulatory clarity they require. Our comprehensive suite of solutions can be tailored to meet varying regional regulatory requirements, enabling institutions to navigate the complex landscape of global digital asset regulations. This year, we are actively researching a new approach to validator optimization that enables improved performance without compromising our industry-leading OFAC compliance standards.
Our “Safety Over Liveness” philosophy has delivered consistent performance with zero slashing incidents throughout 2024. On top of this, our robust infrastructure is backed by both SOC 2 compliance and ISO 27001 certification.
As we look to this year our staking dashboard provides institutions with detailed reward statements, along with visibility into their staking operations, with validator-specific performance metrics. This transparency, combined with our non-custodial architecture and direct custody integrations, positions Figment to support the next wave of institutional adoption in the evolving ETH staking landscape.
Bitcoin’s Staking Renaissance
2024 marked a transformative year for Bitcoin staking, driven by the rapid adoption of Layer 2 solutions like Babylon and Stacks. These technologies have redefined Bitcoin’s capabilities, addressing its long-standing challenges of scalability and transaction efficiency. Babylon leverages optimistic rollups to enable high-speed, low-cost transactions, optimizing Bitcoin for modern applications while retaining its unmatched security in the digital asset space. Similarly, Stacks extends Bitcoin’s ecosystem by enabling smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps) through its innovative Proof-of-Transfer mechanism, anchored directly to the Bitcoin blockchain.
Figment’s support of CoreDAO, Babylon and Stacks has solidified its position as a leader in Bitcoin staking infrastructure. By providing secure, institutional-grade solutions, Figment has been instrumental in fostering the growth of these Layer 2 ecosystems. This early positioning in 2024 not only aligned with the evolving needs of the market but also sets the stage for Figment to play a pivotal role as these technologies mature further this year.
Institutional interest in Bitcoin staking is on the rise, fueled by the promise of scalable, cost-effective solutions that overcome Bitcoin’s base-layer limitations. Babylon and Stacks offer institutions the ability to participate in a more efficient Bitcoin network while maintaining the transparency and security critical to institutional adoption. Figment’s trusted infrastructure, combined with its regulatory expertise, is ensuring that institutions can confidently engage with these groundbreaking technologies, paving the way for broader adoption into 2025 and beyond.
The Regulatory Horizon
2024 marked a pivotal year for staking regulation, with Figment taking a leadership role in educating regulators across key global markets through our Regulatory Engagement and Policy Team. Since Figment’s inception, we’ve established meaningful dialogues with regulators and lawmakers worldwide, culminating in significant progress across multiple jurisdictions.
As a member of the Crypto Council for Innovation (CCI) and through our leadership in the Proof of Stake Alliance (POSA), Figment has helped drive important regulatory clarity in multiple regions.
In North America, our team engaged with various Congressional offices and regulators to articulate the fundamental differences between protocol staking and investment products like lending protocols. As we look toward 2025’s new administration, these foundational relationships and educational efforts position the industry for potential positive regulatory developments.
In Europe, our work with the Swiss Blockchain Federation led to meaningful modifications in FINMA’s proposed staking guidance, while our engagement with the FCA and HMRC Treasury has advanced staking framework discussions in the UK.
In APAC, we’ve provided crucial feedback to Singapore’s MAS regarding retail staking proposals.
Moving forward, we’re deepening our regulatory engagement through new initiatives, including our recent membership in the Blockchain Association, as we continue to advocate for responsible industry growth and clear regulatory frameworks that recognize staking’s unique technical characteristics.
Never Miss a Staking Reward with Figment
Throughout last year, Figment has demonstrated that prioritizing Safety over Liveness is crucial for sustainable, institutional-grade staking. While traditional metrics like uptime can be misleading, our focus on risk-adjusted rewards has delivered consistent results across our validator network. This approach has been particularly evident in our Ethereum operations, where we’ve maintained zero slashing incidents while delivering rewards on par with network averages, and on Solana, where we’ve consistently outperformed network averages through sophisticated skip rate optimization.
This year, we’re doubling down on our commitment to maximizing risk-adjusted rewards through enhanced monitoring capabilities and comprehensive coverage options. Our Slashing, Downtime, and Missed Rewards coverage provides institutions with robust protection for their staked assets, moving beyond simple uptime guarantees to address the real risks in staking operations.
Our commitment to regulatory compliance, particularly in maintaining OFAC-compliant MEV relay usage on ETH has been central to our strategy. We help ensure our institutional clients meet their compliance obligations while maximizing rewards. This commitment extends across our entire validator network.
By continuing to prioritize security while optimizing for performance, we’re ensuring that institutions can confidently scale their staking operations without compromising on risk management. This balanced approach, combined with our proactive stance on regulatory compliance, positions Figment to continue leading the institutional staking landscape as the industry matures.
2025 Will Be There Of Staking At Institutional Scale
We anticipate that the staking landscape will grow exponentially this year. The maturation of staking, coupled with the anticipated entry of new institutional players through ETFs and traditional banking products, signals a healthy and developing ecosystem. Industry leaders anticipate significant growth in Bitcoin staking & DeFi, Solana’s ecosystem, and the emergence of innovative Layer 1 protocols such as Berachain and Monad.
2024 demonstrated the maturation of digital asset staking—2025 will showcase its true potential for institutional portfolios. As traditional finance increasingly embraces digital asset staking through ETFs, neobank offerings, and new financial products, Figment’s commitment to risk-adjusted rewards and regulatory compliance makes us the partner of choice for institutions ready for this opportunity.
The market is evolving beyond basic infrastructure to demand solutions that deliver sustainable, optimized rewards. Figment is the leading staking infrastructure provider with $15 billion in assets under stake and over 700+ institutional clients—including leading asset managers, exchanges, wallets, foundations, and custodians, Figment continues to set the gold standard for institutional-grade staking services.