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:
They offer an above-average Annual Percentage Rate (APR).
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.
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:
Accessibility: Delegating tasks to the provider should be straightforward, whether the delegating party is an institution or an individual.
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.
Public Service Offering: Staking services should be the provider's principal offering and should be openly stated.
Financial Stability: Tier 2 providers, particularly those offering liquid staking, should not present abnormal APR rates compared to their peers within the same tier.
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:
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)
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