Northstake Announces Tokenized Staking on Ethereum Testnet with 3iQ, CoinFund and CoinDesk Indices

The firm aims to build a tokenized staking marketplace for institutional investors to improve yield performance in their funds

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, April 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Northstake, a regulated custodial virtual asset service provider offering compliant staking products for institutions, has announced the launch of a tokenized ETH staking pilot on the Ethereum testnet, Holesky. The pilot is conducted in collaboration with leading digital asset manager 3iQ, a Canadian investment fund manager, alongside CoinFund and CoinDesk Indices, contributing CESR, the composite ether staking rate. Industry-leading liquidity providers are currently onboarding with Northstake and will be announced shortly.

Northstake demonstrates the capability of tokenized staking to allow regulated institutions to liquidate their Ethereum validator nodes within hours instead of days, while satisfying regulators' requirements. Northstake envisions a frictionless marketplace for tokenized Web3 infrastructure and expects the Holesky testnet launch to pave the way for a Mainnet launch later this year.

Pascal St-Jean, President of 3iQ, stated, "We are happy to be an early testing partner with Northstake on tokenized ETH staking. Our goal is to significantly improve the capital efficiency of our ETH funds in a regulatory-compliant manner."

Institutional interest in Ethereum staking and other digital assets has been steadily increasing over the past few years, with 68% of investors indicating intentions to start staking or increase their staked amounts following the Shanghai upgrade. As of April 2024, more than $109 billion worth of ETH has been staked on the chain, with institutional investors among the largest cohorts of participants. Northstake's pilot with 3iQ caters to a specific demand from institutional investors for the rapid liquidation of staked Ether in compliance with regulatory requirements.

Jesper Johansen, Founder and CEO of Northstake, said, "We are looking forward to supporting 3iQ on several initiatives from our stronghold in Europe. In the short term, tokenized staking aims to improve capital efficiency in staking funds by increasing the assets they are allowed to stake. In the long run, tokenized staking opens up unprecedented opportunities for institutions to join a fully regulated marketplace for Web3 infrastructure."