Ethereum News Today: Institutions Gamble on STRK Staking Amid Crypto’s Yield Hunt

Anchorage Digital, a chartered crypto bank in the United States, has launched custody and staking services for Starknet’s native token, STRK, addressing institutional investors’ demand for yield generation in digital assets. As of the latest data, staked STRK currently offers an annual percentage rate (APR) of 7.28%, significantly higher than the current yields on U.S. Treasurys, which hover between 4.0% and 4.5%. This development positions STRK staking as an increasingly competitive alternative for institutions seeking diversified returns in a low-yield traditional financial environment [1].

Starknet, a layer-2 scaling solution built on Ethereum that leverages zero-knowledge proofs, introduced staking as part of its broader decentralization strategy. By allowing STRK holders to stake their tokens and earn rewards, Starknet aims to enhance its security model while offering institutional participants new avenues for capital deployment. Anchorage Digital, which has provided STRK custody services since January 2025, is now extending those capabilities to include staking, further expanding the token's utility [2].

This move by Anchorage Digital aligns with a growing trend in the institutional adoption of crypto staking. Other major players, such as Switzerland’s Sygnum Bank and Komainu—a financial institution backed by Nomura—have also entered the staking space, offering compliant and regulated staking solutions for institutional clients. Meanwhile, the Liquid Collective introduced LsSOL, a liquid staking token for Solana, marking another step in the standardization of institutional staking products [1].

The timing of Anchorage’s STRK staking offering is notable against a backdrop of rising institutional interest in yield-bearing crypto products. Earlier this year, Ethereum’s staking entry queue reached an all-time high, with on-chain data showing over 860,000 ETH—worth approximately $3.7 billion—waiting to be staked. This surge in demand for staking underscores a broader shift in how institutional investors are allocating capital across digital assets, particularly as central banks in the U.S. signal potential rate cuts, which could further reduce the appeal of traditional fixed-income instruments [1].

However, the recent Grinta upgrade by Starknet—intended to improve decentralization and network efficiency—has been marred by technical issues, including a prolonged network outage. The upgrade caused a major disruption lasting several hours, with transactions halted and gateways rendered unresponsive. While the network has since recovered, the incident has raised concerns about the platform’s reliability, particularly in a competitive Ethereum layer-2 space where uptime is critical for maintaining institutional confidence [3].

The Grinta upgrade, which introduced changes to the network’s core architecture—such as a decentralized sequencer and updated fee markets—was expected to enhance scalability and security. Yet, the recent outages highlight the risks associated with implementing complex protocol upgrades in a live environment. This incident has led to a short-term decline in the value of STRK, which fell more than 3% during the outage, reflecting investor sensitivity to operational disruptions [4].

Despite these challenges, Starknet remains a key player in the Ethereum layer-2 ecosystem, with plans to integrate Bitcoin staking into its network. The proposal, approved by the community with 93.6% support, will allow wrapped Bitcoin assets to participate in the staking mechanism. This expansion of the staking ecosystem could further diversify yield opportunities for institutions and reinforce Starknet’s role in bridging the gap between traditional and digital finance [3].

Source:

[1] Anchorage Starknet Staking Institutions Crypto Yields (https://cointelegraph.com/news/anchorage-starknet-staking-institutions-crypto-yields)

[2] Anchorage adds Starknet staking service for institutional (https://www.panewslab.com/en/articles/b6fdeadc-e511-4177-a026-40ac8d9f9689)

[3] Ethereum L2 Starknet Goes Dark for Hours Following (https://coinlaw.io/starknet-outage-grinta-upgrade-sequencer-failure/)

[4] Ethereum layer 2 StarkNet hit by 4-hour outage after upgrade (https://www.mitrade.com/insights/news/live-news/article-3-1088165-20250902)