Kraken Acquires Staked to Offer Non-Custodial Crypto-Staking Services to Retail, Professional Investors

US-based digital asset platform Kraken has acquired a non-custodial staking platform “Staked” for an undisclosed amount of money. As per reports, this is one of the biggest acquisitions related to the crypto industry. Kraken plans on expanding its “staking: services” with more supported networks and a non-custodial alternative to its existing custodial staking service. Crypto staking is a method that people can follow to lock a part of their cryptocurrencies as a way to contribute to a blockchain network and earn yield in return.

Kraken intends to assist investors earn yield from staking without having to give up custody of their crypto assets.

Now that this acquisition is official, all of the clients of Staked will be added to Kraken's servers.

“Staked will allow us to further strengthen our product offering through world-class infrastructure for clients who prefer to retain custody of their staked assets,” said Jesse Powell, CEO and co-founder of Kraken.

With Staked, Kraken has bagged its fifth acquisition this year.

This year, the company claimed that its staking business grew by over 950 percent amounting to nearly $16 billion (roughly Rs. 1,20,820 crore) in November, resulting in token rewards worth over $500 million (roughly Rs. 3,775 crore) being paid out to clients.

On a global level, crypto-related firms collectively raised more than $30 billion (roughly Rs. 2,27,617 crore) from venture capital firms in 2021, making it the highest collection so far. In 2018, this number was $8 billion (roughly Rs. 60,704 crore).

Earlier this month, for instance, crypto investment platform Stacked raised $35 million (roughly Rs. 263 crore) in a funding round led by quantitative cryptocurrency trading firm Alameda Research and crypto investment firm, Mirana Ventures.

In October, crypto exchange platform WOO Network bagged $30 million (roughly Rs. 223 crore) from various investors in a Series A funding round.