Coinbase Prime and Figment are expanding their collaboration to offer institutional clients staking services for a wider range of proof-of-stake (PoS) networks beyond Ethereum. The integration allows institutions to stake assets directly from Coinbase Prime's custody using Figment's infrastructure. This enables them to manage staking alongside trading and financing from a single platform.
The expansion builds upon a partnership that began in early 2024, initially focused on Ethereum staking. Since then, Coinbase Prime and Figment have facilitated over $2 billion in staked assets. Most recently, they collaborated to support Grayscale in launching the first U.S. Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) with staking.
The integration will now include support for networks such as Solana, Sui, Aleo, Aptos, Avalanche, Axelar, Cardano, Celestia, Cosmos, EigenLayer, NEAR, and Polkadot, with plans to add more networks in the future. This expansion provides institutional clients with greater flexibility in choosing staking providers while maintaining secure custody.
Coinbase's Head of Staking Sales, Lewis Han, stated that the expanded integration gives institutions more flexibility in selecting high-quality staking providers like Figment while safeguarding assets with Coinbase Prime's institutional-grade controls and secure custody. He added that the collaboration reinforces Coinbase's commitment to decentralization and validator diversity.
Figment's co-founder and CEO, Lorien Gabel, emphasized the company's focus on security and risk-adjusted performance, building infrastructure for the world's most trusted financial institutions. Figment currently has $18 billion in assets under stake across more than 40 protocols.
This announcement coincides with the launch of several staking-focused ETFs in the U.S., including the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF (BSOL). Grayscale has also announced plans to introduce staking for its Ethereum and Solana products, having already staked $150 million worth of Ether (ETH).
These developments follow the SEC's determination that certain liquid staking activities do not constitute securities transactions. This clarification has encouraged asset managers to explore liquid staking mechanisms for Solana-based ETFs.
The partnership between Coinbase Prime and Figment enhances capital efficiency through diversified yield generation. By enabling investors to earn staking rewards on a broader range of assets, platforms like Coinbase Prime and Figment are transforming crypto holdings into income-generating instruments. The ability to stake a significant portion of an ETF's holdings without compromising market exposure creates a compounding effect.
The convergence of staking infrastructure and ETF innovation signifies a structural shift in how capital is allocated and managed in the digital asset space. The Coinbase Prime-Figment partnership exemplifies the operational rigor required to meet institutional standards, while the proliferation of staking-enabled ETFs underscores the growing legitimacy of crypto as a mainstream asset class.
