By BNY is working with blockchain infrastructure provider Figment to offer cryptocurrency staking through its existing Digital Asset Custody platform, giving eligible institutional clients access to staking rewards without establishing a separate custody relationship with a validator operator.Announced on Thursday, November 12, the arrangement will use Figment’s validator infrastructure to support staking for asset managers, exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuers, corporations and wealth management firms. Ethereum (ETH) will be the first supported asset, with Solana (SOL) expected to follow, according to details provided by Figment.
The companies have not disclosed a launch date, expected client assets, commercial terms or the fees institutions will pay for the service.
The agreement extends BNY’s existing digital asset business into blockchain validation, where institutions can earn protocol rewards on eligible holdings while relying on established custody and servicing arrangements.
How Will BNY’s Institutional Staking Service Work?
Under the arrangement, BNY will provide the custody framework and client-facing services, while Figment supplies the validator infrastructure required to participate in proof-of-stake networks.
Rather than operating their own validators or establishing separate relationships with staking providers, eligible institutions will be able to access staking through their existing BNY custody platform.
The approach is particularly relevant for regulated investment managers and ETF issuers, which generally require formal custody controls, transaction records, operational oversight and reporting procedures before participating in staking.
BNY Head of Digital Asset Custody Ralf Roth said institutional demand is increasingly focused on how staking services are delivered rather than access alone.
Integrating staking into the bank’s custody environment could simplify operational workflows, although keeping assets within a custody arrangement does not eliminate blockchain-specific risks.
Ethereum validators can face penalties or slashing for certain operational failures, while withdrawal processing and reward distribution depend on network conditions. Solana has different delegation and reward mechanisms, meaning institutions will need to evaluate each supported asset separately.
Investor Takeaway
BNY’s model could reduce the operational complexity of institutional staking by combining custody and validator access. However, the companies have not disclosed fees, expected staking yields or committed assets, making it too early to estimate the service’s potential contribution to revenue.
How Does Figment Fit Into BNY’s Existing Staking Plans?
The Figment agreement follows BNY’s August 2026 announcement of a separate institutional staking collaboration with Galaxy.
That arrangement was designed to combine Galaxy’s proof-of-stake infrastructure with BNY’s custody and asset-servicing capabilities. Galaxy was also named a design partner for the bank’s broader digital asset platform.
BNY said at the time that its planned staking offering and related infrastructure enhancements remained subject to regulatory review. The latest Figment announcement does not establish whether those conditions have been satisfied.
Neither company has explained how Figment’s responsibilities will overlap with or differ from Galaxy’s existing role, or whether the providers will serve different networks, client segments or operational requirements.
Figment already supplies staking infrastructure to financial institutions and digital asset platforms. Its previous agreements include a partnership with Swiss digital asset infrastructure provider Taurus, which integrated staking into a custody platform used by regulated financial institutions.
Figment also works with Coinbase Prime. The companies said their collaboration had supported more than $2 billion in staked assets by October 2025, when they expanded their relationship to additional proof-of-stake networks.
Figment says it serves more than 1,500 institutional clients, including asset managers, custodians, exchanges and wallet providers.
Investor Takeaway
The Figment agreement adds another institutional distribution relationship for the validator provider. For BNY, using external infrastructure may reduce the need to develop every staking capability internally, although the division of responsibilities between Figment and Galaxy remains unclear.
Why Is BNY Expanding Beyond Cryptocurrency Custody?
BNY launched its Digital Asset Custody service in October 2022, initially supporting Bitcoin and Ethereum for selected institutional clients.
The bank has since expanded into stablecoin custody, tokenized assets and additional digital asset servicing capabilities.
In October 2026, BNY expanded its relationship with Ripple to support XRP and RLUSD custody, while outlining plans to allow eligible institutional customers to mint and redeem Ripple’s dollar-backed stablecoin through the bank.
BNY also expanded its Digital Asset Custody platform to selected European Union institutions under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework in October, following the registration of its European banking entity.
Staking introduces a different service model from basic custody because client assets can participate in blockchain consensus and generate rewards. That creates opportunities for additional servicing fees but also introduces validator performance, liquidity and compliance considerations.
For ETF issuers, staking capabilities can be particularly relevant when fund structures permit participation in proof-of-stake networks. The ability to earn rewards may affect fund economics, although any benefit depends on the portion of assets staked, protocol rewards, fees and applicable restrictions.
What Will Determine the Service’s Financial Impact?
The commercial significance of BNY’s staking expansion will depend on client adoption, the value of assets delegated and the pricing arrangement between the bank and its infrastructure providers.
Staking rewards are variable rather than guaranteed investment income. Returns can change with network issuance, validator performance, transaction fees and the proportion of tokens participating in staking.
The service also does not guarantee greater demand for ETH or SOL. Institutions may stake assets they already hold rather than purchase additional tokens.
BNY and Figment have not specified when clients will begin staking, how rewards will be shared or what regulatory and eligibility conditions will apply.
Investor Takeaway
The agreement expands BNY’s planned institutional crypto services beyond safekeeping, but it does not yet establish a measurable earnings opportunity. Launch timing, supported jurisdictions, fee arrangements and actual assets staked will be the principal indicators of commercial adoption.