Staking Provider Tier

Corporate entities / Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAO) that provide validator services.

Tier 2 providers can be characterized as providers of "Staking as a Service." From these providers, it is reasonable to anticipate the following:

1. They offer an above-average Annual Percentage Rate (APR).

2. They use an Investigation required: ​https://lido.fi/​ They fully disclosed their node operators for each chain infrastructure setup resulting in slashing rates below the industry average.

3. They demonstrate a level of accountability for any actions or faults that may occur.

Typically, we expect the following from providers identified as Tier 2:

1. Accessibility: Delegating tasks to the provider should be straightforward, whether the delegating party is an institution or an individual.

2. Responsibility: A specific entity must be held accountable for the service provided. There should be consequences in the event of non-compliance or failure to deliver as promised.

3. Public Service Offering: Staking services should be the provider's principal offering and should be openly stated.

4. Financial Stability: Tier 2 providers, particularly those offering liquid staking, should not present abnormal APR rates compared to their peers within the same tier.

5. Non-Exchange Identity: Tier 2 providers should not be exchanges, as their staking rates are based on methods (bounded/flexible), which are often complex and require extensive research to understand fully.

The criteria for the selection process are:

Category	Criteria
Accessibility	Delegation can be accomplished with just a few simple clicks.
Accessibility	Comprehensive documentation is available, facilitating a smooth delegation process.
Accessibility	A contact form is available, and 'institutional' staking is actively promoted.
Responsability	The provider conducts operations under a legitimate legal entity, such as a corporation.
Responsability	The provider functions as a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO). Furthermore, its governance token is listed among the top 100 tokens by market capitalization on CoinMarketCap (CMC).
Transparency	The provider must publicly declare that they offer staking-as-a-ervice.
Transparency	If the provider offers its staking solution via Liquid Staking Derivatives, the identities of the node operators should be disclosed. Moreover, over 75% of these node operators must meet the criteria specified for Tier 2 categorization.
Exchange exclusion	The provider should not engage in offering online trading services.

An entity must satisfy at least one criterion from each category to be classified as a Tier 2 provider.

Examples of Tier 2:

• https://everstake.one/

• https://infstones.com/

• https://www.figment.io/

Examples of Non-Tier 2:

• https://www.48.club/ (Failed responsibility criterion)

• https://www.certik.com/ (Validator for BNB; failed public criterion)

• https://www.ankr.com/ (Undisclosed node operators set)