Anchorage Digital Launches Institutional Staking for Starknet—Unlocking Enterprise-Grade Yield

Institutional crypto just leveled up. Anchorage Digital—the first federally chartered crypto bank—unveiled institutional staking services for Starknet, bringing heavyweight infrastructure to Ethereum’s scaling darling.

Why It Matters

Big money meets Layer-2. Starknet’s zero-knowledge tech promises cheaper, faster transactions—and now institutions can earn yield on idle assets without self-custody headaches. Anchorage handles security, compliance, and slashing risks. Because nothing says 'institutional grade' like outsourcing the hard parts.

The Bottom Line

Wall Street’s fling with crypto deepens. Staking used to be for degens and hobbyists—now it’s another revenue stream for funds that still won’t touch Bitcoin without a custody agreement and three legal opinions. Progress? Sure. But let’s see how fast they bolt when yields dip below treasury bonds.

Institutional access to Starknet

Starknet (STRK), the Layer 2 scaling network developed by StarkWare, lowers fees and boosts throughput for ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) applications by utilizing zero-knowledge proofs. By adding staking to its custody services, Anchorage is giving institutions a controlled way to join the network without sacrificing security or compliance standards.

Anchorage CEO Nathan McCauley said the goal is to “give institutions SAFE and seamless access to growing crypto ecosystems.” At the same time, StarkWare co-founder Eli Ben-Sasson highlighted the partnership as a sign of “growing demand for robust, secure staking options” from both developers and financial institutions.

Growth of the Starknet ecosystem

The launch comes after several recent milestones in Starknet’s staking ecosystem. SNIP-31, which added Bitcoin staking to the network and enabled wrapped BTC assets to receive STRK rewards, was approved by the community in August. The update positioned Starknet as a competitor in the growing BTCfi market and brought it closer to Bitcoin’s liquidity.

Other major developments include the migration of Extended, a perpetual DEX, onto Starknet with support for liquid staking tokens and the launch of new validator programs to encourage decentralization. As of this writing, more than 480 million STRK have been staked on the network, and more delegation programs are being rolled out to increase the number of validators. 

Anchorage’s help has added an institutional layer to this growth by providing large investors with a safe and regulated way to engage in STRK staking. For Starknet, it is another step in integrating its technology with major financial players, while for institutions, it offers a direct path to staking rewards on one of Ethereum’s most advanced scaling networks.