Telekom Joins Injective as Validator, Boosting Blockchain Security

Deutsche Telekom, one of Europe's largest telecommunications companies, has expanded its presence in the blockchain industry by becoming a validator for the Injective blockchain. The company's subsidiary, Deutsche Telekom MMS, will validate transactions and participate in on-chain governance, as announced in a February 27 blog post from Injective.

Eric Chen, CEO of Injective, expressed excitement about the collaboration, stating that the blockchain is "thrilled to have one of the world's leading telecommunications companies" joining as a validator. Chen highlighted the growing institutionalization of Web3 and the importance of decentralized blockchains in ensuring reliability and security, particularly in financial matters.

Oliver Nyderle, head of Web3 infrastructure at Deutsche Telekom MMS, emphasized the company's commitment to fostering true decentralization and using its infrastructure to enhance the security of the network. As part of its new validator duties, Deutsche Telekom MMS will stake the Injective blockchain's native token, INJ, to propose blocks, secure cross-chain interoperability, validate transactions, and vote on governance proposals.

Deutsche Telekom MMS joins a pool of 60 validators, including crypto exchanges Kraken and Binance staking, as shown on the block explorer Mintscan. Injective positions itself as an interoperable layer-1 blockchain designed for finance, operating on a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism.

Deutsche Telekom, with a market capitalization of around $178 billion and over 252 million mobile customers worldwide, operates broadband and mobile networks in more than 50 countries through its subsidiaries, such as T-Mobile. Deutsche Telekom MMS, founded in 1995, has expanded its services to include a broader range of IT and technology solutions beyond its initial focus on TV software development.

Through Deutsche Telekom MMS, the telecom giant has been increasingly involved in the crypto space. In June 2023, it became a validator for Polygon, and in June 2021, it joined the Celo validator network. Additionally, the subsidiary has been operating a Bitcoin node since 2023 and began Bitcoin mining using surplus renewable energy in November.

Other mainstream companies have also been becoming validators. In November, Google Cloud joined the pool of central validators for the Cronos blockchain, becoming the 32nd validator on the Cronos Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM