Anchorage Digital has broadened its support for the Hyperliquid ecosystem by enabling HYPE staking on HyperCORE, enhancing its existing custody services for HYPE on HyperEVM.

Staking is the process of locking cryptocurrencies to secure a blockchain network in return for rewards. This service is made available through Anchorage Digital Bank and its Singapore branch, which holds a Major Payment Institution license. Additionally, staking is expected to be accessible via Porto, the self-custody wallet.

Anchorage has teamed up with Figment for the foundational validator infrastructure, as stated in a recent announcement.

As both custody and staking are now operational on HyperEVM and HyperCORE, Anchorage is poised to facilitate a broader spectrum of activities within Hyperliquid, including access to decentralized finance services through Porto and custody for more HyperEVM tokens, including Kinetiq.

Hyperliquid, a Layer 1 blockchain supporting a decentralized exchange, utilizes a unique architecture that separates HyperEVM for Ethereum-compatible smart contracts from HyperCORE for native staking.

This latest strategic move follows Anchorage Digital’s announcement of a recent partnership with Mezo two days ago, which enhances institutional access to Bitcoin-backed borrowing.

Founded in 2017 and based in San Francisco, Anchorage Digital Bank stands as the only federally chartered crypto bank in the U.S., operating alongside the larger Anchorage Digital platform.

Institutional DeFi Trajectory

Anchorage Digital’s new initiative mirrors a broader trend of integrating DeFi infrastructure and staking solutions into institutional platforms. More custodians and infrastructure providers are beginning to offer regulated access to staking and other services on-chain.

In October, Crypto.com revealed plans for users to lend wrapped cryptocurrencies and earn stablecoin yield via Morpho, a decentralized lending protocol, with stablecoin markets expected to debut on the Cronos blockchain.

Coinbase adopted a similar approach in September, adding Morpho support directly in its app, allowing users to lend USDC and earn yields without needing external DeFi platforms or separate wallets.

In November, the infrastructure firm Threshold upgraded its tBTC bridge to enable institutions to mint tBTC with a single Bitcoin transaction, aiming to simplify the deployment of assets into DeFi protocols for large holders.

A report published by Binance Research highlighted that DeFi lending protocols have surged by over 72% from January to September, propelled by growing institutional engagement with stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets.