Institutional Staking Services Launch

An institutional staking firm and validator named P2P.org has introduced cryptocurrency staking services for institutional customers in collaboration with the OKX exchange.

P2P's staking-as-a-business model (SaaB) will grant business clients access to high-quality staking services covering various assets, including Polkadot (DOT), Kusama (KSM), Celestia (TIA), and Cardano (ADA).

Representatives from P2P informed Cointelegraph that utilizing OKX for staking allows eligible users to benefit from an APR without the complexities involved in setting up new nodes. They highlighted common obstacles that deter institutions from entering the crypto staking arena.

Challenges such as a steep learning curve, time commitment, and the substantial expenses associated with running a node act as barriers preventing businesses from capitalizing on the returns provided by digital assets, as per P2P representatives.

Expansion of P2P.org's Presence

In April, P2P.org reached $7.5 billion in total value locked (TVL) and introduced its staking-as-a-business model, designed to lower entry barriers for institutional clients.

At that time, Alex Esin, the CEO of P2P.org, shared with Cointelegraph, "Our aim is to facilitate the establishment or growth of staked assets within institutional products, ensuring that staking contributes at least 10% to total revenue, with a target of 20%."

Access to Crypto Markets without Specialized Knowledge

Models like P2P's SaaB, crypto exchange-traded products, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are gaining popularity among institutional investors and traditional financial institutions. These avenues offer institutional players exposure to the crypto markets without the need to master the technical intricacies inherent in digital assets.

A recent CoinShares report on "Digital Asset Fund Flows" revealed that inflows into crypto exchange-traded funds and products reached $2 billion in May 2024, bringing the year-to-date figure to over $15 billion in capital invested.

Institutional interest in the crypto space surged following the approval of a spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF in the United States, with major asset managers like BlackRock offering BTC exposure to their clients.

This interest in digital asset investment transcended into other sectors, where pension fund managers diversified their holdings by gaining Bitcoin exposure.

In a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB), responsible for managing Wisconsin's state pension system, disclosed holdings of approximately 2.4 million shares of BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and over 1 million shares of Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), amounting to a combined $164 million investment in the decentralized currency.