Galaxy Digital Inc. has announced a strategic collaboration with BNY, a global financial services company, aimed at advancing digital asset infrastructure for institutional markets. The partnership includes integrating support for staking — a process that allows eligible digital assets to earn rewards — into BNY's Digital Asset Custody platform, bringing custody and staking together within a single institutional servicing model.

The combination of BNY's Digital Asset Custody platform with Galaxy's expertise in proof-of-stake networks is designed to provide clients with an integrated, institutional-grade experience for participating in staking through a secure and streamlined workflow. BNY, founded in 1784 and one of the world's largest custodian banks with over $50 trillion in assets under custody and administration, launched its Digital Asset Custody platform in October 2024, marking one of the most significant entries by a legacy U.S. trust bank into the digital asset custody space. Beyond staking, Galaxy is also serving as a design partner to further develop BNY's broader digital asset platform infrastructure. BNY's offering of staking and related infrastructure enhancements remains subject to regulatory review.

The partnership reflects a broader trend among major financial institutions that have been expanding their digital asset offerings following regulatory approvals of spot bitcoin and ether ETFs in the United States. Staking has grown into a significant component of proof-of-stake blockchain networks, with Ethereum's transition to proof-of-stake in 2022 establishing the model at scale. Integrating staking into a bank custody platform addresses a long-standing operational challenge for institutions: historically, earning staking rewards required moving assets out of custodial arrangements or relying on third-party validators, creating friction and counterparty exposure.

"As digital assets continue to evolve, clients want more than safekeeping alone — they want a broader set of capabilities delivered through an institutional-grade model," said Carolyn Weinberg, Chief Product and Innovation Officer at BNY. "Our work with Galaxy – an early client of BNY's Digital Asset Custody platform – reflects our strategy of building the financial infrastructure of the future while continuing to expand our digital asset capabilities. With the addition of staking, we will be providing clients with a more comprehensive digital asset custody offering built on the governance, controls and resiliency they expect from BNY."

"The future of financial markets will be built on open, programmable rails, and the institutions that move first will define the era that follows," said Steve Kurz, Global Co-Head of Digital Assets at Galaxy. "Galaxy has spent years building the institutional-grade infrastructure to drive that shift, including staking. Our collaboration with BNY brings that work into a framework the world's largest institutions can trust. As a design partner on BNY's platform infrastructure, we're helping shape the foundation on which these services will run."

Eligible institutional clients will be able to access staking within BNY's broader servicing model, which integrates capabilities such as custody, fund accounting, tax reporting, payments, and client reporting where applicable. This approach is intended to give institutions a more efficient means of participating in digital asset markets while preserving the operational safeguards, oversight, and asset protections provided by BNY's custody framework.