BNY Plans Staking Through Galaxy — the Same Validator Behind BlackRock's ETH ETF, Raising Concentration Questions
BNY said on August 4 it plans to add crypto staking to its custody platform through Galaxy's infrastructure, pending regulatory approval. CryptoSlate noted Galaxy is also one of three approved validators for BlackRock's staked-ETH ETF and runs Solana staking, meaning two of Wall Street's largest institutions would route validator operations through one provider across multiple chains. The outlet framed this as a concentration risk at the staking layer — where the provider controls block production and transaction inclusion — distinct from who owns the coins or holds the keys.
The other kind of control: who runs the validators
BNY plans to let clients earn staking yield through Galaxy. Galaxy also runs validators for BlackRock's staked-Ethereum fund. Both routing the machinery of the network through one operator.
Owning a fund is owning an asset. Running a validator is helping decide which transactions a blockchain accepts and when they're final. That's the closest thing a public chain has to a lever of power.
None of it is live yet — BNY needs regulatory approval, and Galaxy is one of three approved validators for BlackRock's fund. The point is the direction: same operator chosen the way banks choose vendors.
Ethereum's promise was that no one owns it — power spread across thousands of independent operators so no handful can control it. But BNY and BlackRock both leaning on Galaxy is exactly the concentration banks are used to and the network was built to avoid.
Related storylines
- BlackRock crypto product expansionBlackRock expanding crypto infrastructure and institutional custody services