Netherlands cryptocurrency exchange Bitvavo will tap into staking platform Figment’s institutional-grade infrastructure to stake a variety of tokens on behalf of its users.
Figment, which attracted significant investments from the likes of Galaxy Digital in 2021, announced that it would provide staking infrastructure for the Dutch exchange. Bitvavo will stake user assets across multiple proof-of-stake protocols including Ethereum, Solana and NEAR.
A statement from Bitvavo CEO and co-founder Mark Nuvelstijn highlighted the exchange’s efforts to review and enhance its product and services.
Nuvelstijn added that staking has become an integral part of the cryptocurrency industry and that the provision is an essential service for its customer base of more than 1.5 million users across the Benelux region.
The Bitvavo CEO said that working with Figment would allow the exchange to provide additional security and safety around staking and expand the offering:
“Figment is one of the staking infrastructure leaders in the market, and we continue to be impressed by their staking- and up-to-date market knowledge.”
Figment EMEA head Eva Lawrence said the two teams have been working together for six months with the view of spearheading the exchange’s staking services across Europe.
The partnership is set to provide access to staking rewards on Bitvavo on newly launched networks. Figment is also establishing dedicated validator nodes for Bitvavo to provide high-quality network performance and security.
Bitvavo had previously used Digital Currency Group to offer its off-chain staking services. As the exchange explained in a prior blog post, the contagion caused by systemic failures of large companies in the cryptocurrency sector impacted DCG and its ability to repay outstanding balances to Bitvavo.
The exchange was subsequently involved in a number of negotiations with DCG over the repayment of 280 million euros owed to the exchange. An update in Feb. 2023 noted that Bitvavo was aiming to recoup 80% to 100% of the funds that were held by DCG at the time of its bankruptcy.
Bitvavo’s customers were unaffected by the losses after the exchange took over the entire debt and entered into creditor negotiations with DCG.
The Dutch exchange has since continued a steady approach to expanding its footprint into Europe. In Nov. 2023, it announced the launch of services to French users after successfully registering as a digital asset service provider with France’s Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF).
The expansion into France followed Bitvavo’s regulatory approval to offer its services in Austria. The exchange expanded its offering to Italy in 2022 and has filed registration applications for other major European markets.
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