Institutional Staking: Identifying Green Flags in Potential Providers
We’re taking the guesswork out of the evaluation process by sharing our top three points to consider when looking for an institutional staking provider.
Authored by Marketing Manager Elise M.
When seeking a reliable and trustworthy staking provider, careful evaluation is key. With so many variables and constantly changing requirements, knowing what to look for in a quality institutional staking provider can feel overwhelming. Let’s dive into what our top three factors are.
Staying Power and Trust:
One of the primary concerns when choosing a staking provider is long-term viability. Researching a provider’s history, product profile, and market position is a way to gain insight into whether they are likely to remain reliable in the years to come. When it comes to a market that moves and changes as fast as staking, a reliable partner with the grit and experience to ride out lows and highs is paramount.
As a company that stakes its own assets, Foundry knows and understands the needs of institutional staking firms. Beyond a vested interest in our product’s success, we have a history of providing support backed by industry veterans, and a track record of running top-tier infrastructure at scale — the same team that built our staking infrastructure launched the #1 Bitcoin mining pool in the world. As an independent, non-custodial, and agnostic provider, we have demonstrated staying power in the ever-evolving staking landscape. While other providers may have been acquired or shut their doors in the last year, we stand strong in our commitment to providing and building upon trusted staking services.
Flexibility and Customization:
Next, it can be helpful to see if a staking provider’s offerings align with your product and engineering needs. A willingness to remain flexible and the ability to offer custom solutions for roadmap items can signal that the provider will value your organization’s goals and objectives in the long run. A partner that isn’t sensitive to your pain points or able to grow as your needs evolve could result in frustrating roadblocks that slow progress, so be sure to inquire about the provider’s available resources, team structure, and previous track record of engaging with hands-on partnerships.
At Foundry, our experts understand that a one-size-fits-all approach isn’t appropriate for every institution. With a range of options, including user-friendly interfaces (UI), robust application programming interfaces (API), and bare metal infrastructure, we provide clients the opportunity to choose the most suitable solution — and if there’s still a gap between needs and current offerings, inquire about our white-label approach. With an average of eight employees per supported protocol, our team structure features a 72% higher employee-to-protocol ratio than the industry average. Additionally, Foundry has built a dedicated team to help address emerging protocol demands. Whether your requirements involve adding support or adapting roadmaps, we remain flexible to cater to your unique needs.
Reliable Infrastructure:
Infrastructure plays a vital role in staking operations, and institutions are encouraged to evaluate the hardware and setup of their potential provider. Operators that own their own infrastructure will commonly have greater control over the security, uptime, and reliability of validators compared to those who run only on cloud-based services. Currently, a significant portion of crypto products and services rely on public cloud infrastructures. Choosing a provider that owns its infrastructure can assist in decentralizing your risk when it comes to potential server shutdowns with cloud companies — like what we saw with Hetzner back in the summer of 2022.
Foundry’s infrastructure provides control and autonomy over bare metal configurations. The deployment of failover systems mitigates the risk of server downtime, and tier 4 and 5 data centers set the bar for optimizing performance and security. We also remain on the cutting edge of how staking infrastructure should operate — introducing distributed validator technology (DVT) and client diversity into the mix. Our commitment to maintaining a reliable and independent infrastructure sets us apart as a trusted staking provider with our finger on the pulse of what matters most.
Conclusion
When considering an institutional staking provider, carefully evaluate the above factors, along with your company’s own added criteria, to make an informed decision.
If you’re ready to stake with a provider that has a strong track record in the industry, is flexible in its product offerings, and owns its own infrastructure, connect with the Foundry Staking team to get started.
Disclaimer
The contents of this post have been provided by Foundry Digital LLC (“Foundry” or “we”) for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as giving legal, financial or any other kind of advice. Although we strive to provide quality information, we do not guarantee or warrant any particular results from the use of this information or any opinions provided. Foundry accepts no liability whatsoever for any damages, costs or any other consequences resulting from any actions taken on the basis of the information or opinions provided. Furthermore, Foundry has no control over information provided in any third-party sites linked herein, and Foundry accepts no liability whatsoever over any consequences resulting from any actions taken on the basis of that information. Foundry reserves the right to make changes to this information at any time without prior notice and makes no commitment to update the information contained in this post.
