Utila, the secure, all‑in‑one digital asset operations platform for institutions, has integrated support for Chorus One, one of the world’s leading staking providers operating across multiple Proof‑of‑Stake networks, including Ethereum, Solana, TON, Sui, and Aptos. The integration enables institutional users on Utila to stake digital assets directly within the platform—leveraging Chorus One’s secure, battle-tested infrastructure.
“Our mission is to make institutional digital asset operations secure, scalable, and simple,” said Bentzi Rabi, Co‑Founder & CEO of Utila. “With Chorus One now part of our staking suite, institutions can now benefit from industry‑leading staking infrastructure across even more networks—reinforcing our commitment to delivering the most robust and flexible staking experience available.”
“We’re excited to partner with Utila to make secure staking more accessible to institutions. Since 2018, Chorus One has pioneered secure staking infrastructure across diverse PoS networks,” said Brian Crain, Co‑Founder & CEO of Chorus One. “Our integration with Utila allows institutional users to access our trusted staking infrastructure seamlessly—within a unified platform that combines custody, compliance, and performance.”
The integration is now live and available to all Utila and Chorus One customers.
Chorus One is a leading institutional staking provider, securing digital assets across 40+ Proof‑of‑Stake networks including Ethereum, Solana, Cosmos, and Avalanche.
Since 2018, Chorus One has offered secure infrastructure, validator services, research, and tailored staking solutions. The company also operates OPUS—an ETH staking product—and Chorus One Ventures, a $30 million investment fund supporting innovative PoS and interoperability projects.
Learn more at https://chorus.one
Utila is the secure, all-in-one digital asset operations platform for institutions. Utila enables organizations of all sizes to securely manage and build on digital assets.
Utila offers secure MPC wallets, granular policy controls, robust APIs, payments and tokenization engine, and integrations with banking, AML, exchanges, DeFi, and more. Trusted by industry leaders, Utila processes over $8B monthly and has secured $35B+ in transactions—growing rapidly.
Learn more at https://utila.io
The next chapter in Bitcoin’s evolution is here. With the launch of Mezo, Bitcoin takes yet another step into a new financial era—one where BTC holders can stake, borrow, spend, and more without ever selling their Bitcoin.
At Chorus One, we’re proud to support this pivotal moment, and support BTC staking on Mezo.
Yes, you read that right: you can now stake your BTC—and earn rewards—through a network purpose-built for Bitcoin-native DeFi. Sound good? Then let’s dive in!
Despite being the most secure and decentralized asset in crypto, Bitcoin has remained mostly passive. Its limited scripting language design doesn’t allow for native smart contracts, staking, or the kinds of applications that have fueled the DeFi explosion on Ethereum and other chains.
Mezo changes that, bringing functionality to Bitcoin itself.
It’s a Bitcoin-first, EVM-compatible Layer 1 designed to transform BTC into a productive financial asset. Built using the Cosmos SDK and anchored by tBTC, the most trust-minimized Bitcoin bridge in production, Mezo enables users to do more with their BTC—while retaining full custody and sovereignty. To support this, Mezo introduces a dual-environment architecture designed to balance security and innovation:
From staking and fixed-rate lending to Bitcoin-backed stablecoins and on-chain spending, Mezo is building the core primitives that allow Bitcoin to become more than a store of value. It becomes the foundation for a circular, user-owned economy.
With Mezo’s mainnet launch comes an expansion in Bitcoin utility. BTC holders can now stake their Bitcoin (or wrapped variants like tBTC or WBTC) directly into the Mezo network. In doing so, they help secure the protocol and, in return, earn Mezo Points, a native rewards system that will evolve into BTC-based incentives as the network matures.
Staking durations are flexible—where users can choose between 2, 6, or 9 months. The longer your commitment, the higher your reward multiplier. Everything is on-chain, and designed to uphold Bitcoin’s ethos of decentralization.
🔐 Want to learn more? Contact us here.
As a validator and infrastructure provider for Mezo, Chorus One is proud to help secure the network at mainnet launch, playing a foundational role in bringing Bitcoin staking to life. Our involvement is part of a broader commitment to supporting the next generation of Bitcoin-native finance—an emerging landscape of L2s driving innovation in the Bitcoin ecosystem.
As one of the world’s most trusted staking providers, Chorus One brings the reliability and resilience this new financial infrastructure demands. We operate with ISO27001-certified security, 99.9% uptime across 40+ protocols, and a globally distributed infrastructure spanning 16 countries and 300+ points of presence. Every validator we run is backed by years of protocol expertise, automated operations, and proactive failover systems designed to ensure your assets stay safe and your rewards are delivered.
Choosing Chorus One means staking with a provider trusted by some of the largest names in crypto—and one fully aligned with Bitcoin’s ethos of security, transparency, and self-sovereignty.
👉To learn more, click here.
To get started staking your BTC, click here.
🟠 Remember, Mezo Points are just the beginning. These rewards will evolve into native BTC-based incentives as the network progresses.
To learn more, visit Mezo’s docs here.
Bitcoin is no longer just digital gold. With the launch of Mezo, and the continued development of BitcoinFi, its becoming increasingly programmable, productive, and participatory.
BTC holders can now engage in decentralized finance without bridging to Ethereum, giving up custody, or sacrificing Bitcoin’s principles. Mezo offers the infrastructure to do this natively—and Chorus One provides the trusted path to participate securely.
We’re excited to help shape this next chapter and invite you to join us at the forefront of Bitcoin’s evolution.
👉Are you an institution looking to stake your BTC? Get in touch today!
Cactus Custody (“Cactus”), the qualified institutional custodian brand under Matrixport, has selected Chorus One (“Chorus”), a leading global staking provider and node operator, to strengthen its institutional staking offerings. Through this strategic partnership, Cactus Link—Cactus' proprietary multi-chain wallet extension—will be able to access Chorus’ ETH staking dApp (ETH Vaults), which hosts various Ethereum staking and restaking products, enabling seamless and intuitive access to optimized ETH rewards.
Serving over 300 institutional clients across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, and safeguarding more than $10 billion in digital assets, Cactus is dedicated to providing secure, transparent, and efficient institutional custodial services tailored for the digital era. This collaboration is part of a shared vision to meet the increasing institutional demand for innovative, compliant blockchain solutions, in particular for staking.
Historically, staking and restaking digital assets required significant manual oversight and coordination across multiple platforms—a lucrative yet cumbersome endeavor. Enabling access to ETH Vaults for Cactus Link users transforms this process, allowing institutions to effortlessly deploy capital to earn ETH-based rewards.
While the blockchain industry has consistently introduced groundbreaking financial products, intuitive user experiences have often lagged behind. Embedding advanced solutions directly within wallet and custody environments like Cactus Link provides institutions a strategically attractive, efficient gateway for reward optimization and broader digital asset engagement.
Through this integration, Cactus Link users can seamlessly connect to ETH Vaults, just as they would with other browser extension wallets such as MetaMask. From here, they will gain access to Chorus’ ETH Vaults solutions: MEV Max and Obol.
Connecting to ETH Vaults:
MEV Max
The MEV Max Vault (MEV Max) is an ETH staking solution designed for pooled staking. A first-to-market product, MEV Max introduces several benefits to Cactus users, including:
Obol
The Obol Vault (Obol DV) runs on Obol DVT, giving stakers the opportunity to earn ETH staking rewards, MEV rewards, as well as additional incentives paid in OBOL tokens through the recently launched Obol Incentive Program, while enjoying the enhanced decentralization and security of decentralized validator technology.
Liquid Staking & Future Developments
Both MEV Max and Obol DV give Cactus users the option to mint osETH, a liquid staking token that can be used for restaking and/or DeFi activations such as Chorus’ looped staking solution, “Boost”. Boost allows stakers to increase their staking rewards - with boosted stakers doubling their rewards in some cases, through the use of Aave. For more information on Boost, please visit here to learn more.
Following the integration of ETH Vaults, later this month, there are plans to integrate Cactus Link on Chorus’ Solana staking DApp, further enhancing the sophisticated staking offerings available via Cactus Link. Chorus boasts a storied history within the Solana ecosystem, with ties going back as far as pre-launch testnets, and sustained involvement since, including: operating a genesis validator, a key innovator in MEV solutions, and a longstanding community contributor.
“The industry has talked about institutional adoption for years—but now we can confidently say it's here,” said Brian Crain, Chorus One CEO. “We’re seeing not just a massive influx of capital, but also sophisticated investors demanding powerful products alongside secure, intuitive user experiences for staking. Working with Cactus, we look forward to further developing this unified financial hub in the APAC region and making Ethereum and Solana staking easily accessible to institutions.”
Timothy Tan, Head of Sales and Partnerships of Cactus Custody, added, "At Cactus Custody, we're committed to bridging the gap between institutional-grade security and the dynamic opportunities of blockchain technology. Partnering with Chorus One empowers our clients with seamless access to trusted staking solutions through Cactus Link, transforming complex reward generation into a streamlined, secure, and intuitive experience."
Cactus and Chorus have developed an ambitious integration roadmap, furthering the build-out of a comprehensive hub for reward-optimization products. The integration of additional products with Cactus Link looks to set a new standard for both institutional and retail products, wherein users can seamlessly navigate multiple offerings with just a few clicks. Stay tuned for more updates!
CTA - Maximize Your ETH Rewards Today!
Founded by Jihan Wu, Cactus Custody offers institutional digital asset custody. ISO-certified and a licensed Hong Kong Trust Company (Licence No. TC006789) with a temporary exemption from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, it meets regulatory capital requirements and complies with strict anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing rules.
Using advanced security, Cactus Custody secures billions in assets across hot and cold storage for over 300 institutions, including leading mining companies, pools, funds, asset management platforms, and OTC traders.
Cactus Link, Cactus's multi-chain wallet extension, enables institutional DeFi on EVM and non-EVM chains, supporting nearly 30 blockchains like Ethereum, Solana, Bitcoin, and Cosmos. Users can stake effortlessly without mnemonic phrases through a browser plugin. With features like transaction pre-validation, staking address verification, multi-level approvals, hardware signature checks, Taproot whitelisting, and auditor Ukey protection, Cactus Link ensures top security, unlocking DeFi and Web3 with confidence.
Learn more about Cactus Link at https://www.mycactus.com/defi-connector
Chorus One is one of the largest institutional staking providers globally, operating infrastructure for over 50 Proof-of-Stake (PoS) networks, including Ethereum, Cosmos, Solana, Avalanche, Near, and others. Since 2018, we have been at the forefront of the PoS industry, offering easy-to-use, enterprise-grade staking solutions, conducting industry-leading research, and investing in innovative protocols through Chorus One Ventures. As an ISO 27001 certified provider, Chorus One also offers slashing and double-signing insurance to its institutional clients. For more information, visit chorus.one or follow us on LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), and Telegram.
As a world-leading staking provider and node operator, we’re excited to support this next phase of Ethereum and the opportunities it unlocks. In this article, we’ll explore what Pectra is, its impact on the staking economy, and how Chorus One is delivering best-in-class experiences for stakers in this new era.
Ready? Let's dive into the Pectra upgrade!
Pectra is a major milestone in Ethereum’s proof-of-stake evolution. By raising validator stake limits, enabling auto-compounding, introducing partial withdrawals, and accelerating activations, this upgrade makes staking more scalable, capital-efficient, and accessible for both solo stakers and institutional participants.
At the heart of Pectra is the massive increase in validator stake capacity. The upgrade’s marquee proposal, EIP-7251, raises a validator’s Maximum Effective Balance (MEB) from the rigid 32 ETH limit to 2,048 ETH, through the introduction of a new validator type using the 0x02 withdrawal prefix. This permits large node operators to consolidate into fewer validators, while allowing for compounding rewards, and more flexible increments for stakers operating under the new 2048 ETH limit.
It’s all about reductions. Reduced nodes leads to reduced network congestion, which further results in:
When a new node is added to the Ethereum network, all nodes must exchange attestations with it (P2P messages), and the beacon chain must store information about that validator (balance, status, etc.). All of this exponentially increases congestion as each new validator is added to the network.
Currently, there are approximately 1 million nodes on Ethereum, with around 32 million ETH staked. With Pectra, a single validator can secure up to 64× more ETH, allowing for the consolidation of dozens of separate validator instances into one. If all ETH were consolidated into 0x02 validators, the size of the validator set would go down to 15,625. This may seem like an extreme or unrealistic conversion rate, but we actually expect the conversion rate to be pretty high over time. Of the 32M ETH staked, nearly 13.3M is in Liquid Staking Protocols, pools that aggregate ETH from users, and as such are extremely likely to consolidate in order to reduce operational overhead and slashing risk. A large portion of the remaining ETH is held by institutional holders, CEXs, etc., with holdings in excess of 2048 ETH; which will also likely be consolidated.
So, there is actually a pretty good chance that over the next 12 months, the number of ETH nodes will go down by 100x, massively improving network efficiency.
The original Ethereum staking framework was rigid, with each validator capped at 32 ETH, and any rewards earned beyond this amount had no impact on returns. In order to optimize rewards, operators were required to manually withdraw funds and secure an additional 32 ETH before spinning up a new validator. With EIP-7251, these rewards can be automatically reinvested up to the new 2,048 ETH cap, allowing for auto-compounding of the staking rewards.
At the same time, this makes staking more flexible than ever. Instead of the fixed 32 ETH increments, stakers will be able to allocate any amount between 32 ETH and 2,048 ETH within a single validator. This means that a user with 40 ETH could stake their entire balance, as opposed to under the old framework, where they would have to secure an additional 22 ETH (for a total of 64) and spin up an entirely new validator. This benefits both individual stakers and large-scale operators, enhancing capital efficiency and allowing for more tailored staking strategies.
Historically, only validators could initiate exits, meaning stakers had to rely on node operators to process withdrawals. This created a trust dependency, particularly in staking-as-a-service models and pooled staking setups, where participants had limited control over their staked assets.
Pectra addresses this with EIP-7002, which allows the execution-layer withdrawal address to directly trigger validator exits. This means that instead of depending on validator operators, stakers can now independently initiate withdrawals, giving them greater control over their funds.
Beyond full exits, Pectra also refines partial withdrawals, allowing validators to seamlessly withdraw excess ETH beyond the 32 ETH staking requirement. Previously, while partial withdrawals were enabled in the Shanghai upgrade, they were processed in batches, sometimes leading to delays and inefficiencies. With Pectra, this process becomes more efficient, ensuring that staking rewards are automatically withdrawn without requiring validator intervention or disrupting staking activity.
By shifting exit control to the execution layer and optimizing partial withdrawals, Pectra enhances staker autonomy, reduces trust dependencies, and improves liquidity in Ethereum’s staking ecosystem.
Before Pectra, when users staked ETH, it remained in the deposit contract until it was processed and assigned to a validator, a process that could take hours or even days, leading to delays in activation.
Pectra improves this with EIP-6110, which embeds validator deposit data directly in execution layer blocks. This eliminates the need for validators to pull deposit data from the beacon chain separately, significantly reducing activation wait times. The benefits of this are:
This upgrade streamlines validator activations, making Ethereum’s staking process more efficient and responsive.
Currently, on Ethereum, the minimum slashing penalty (for double signing) is 1 ETH. This is calculated by dividing the effective balance by 32. Since the effective balance pre-Pectra is always 32, the slashing amount is almost always exactly 1 ETH.
However, with the stake limit changed to 2048 ETH, if a fully consolidated node is slashed, you could incur a 64 ETH penalty for each double sign. This penalty is very high and might disincentivize staking, harming overall network security.
To mitigate this, Pectra will change the slashing penalty to 1/4,096 of the total stake. So, if a node has the maximum effective balance (MEB) of 2048 and gets slashed, the new penalty would be 2048/4096, which amounts to 0.5 ETH. This lower penalty is to encourage the consolidation of validators by reducing risk. Effectively, with the Pectra upgrade, you have a higher ARR, initially at a lower slashing risk. However, this might change as the number of nodes comes down. This is a massive argument in favor of users switching to 0x02 validators.
With Pectra, Ethereum staking is entering a new era of efficiency, flexibility, and accessibility. In the next section, we’ll explore how Chorus One is implementing Pectra’s advancements to deliver higher rewards, seamless staking experiences, and cutting-edge innovations for our clients.
As mentioned previously, Pectra introduces a new validator type (0x02 prefix) that allows for larger stake limits, automated compounding, and operational efficiency. At Chorus One, we are committed to providing our clients with the most optimized staking experience, ensuring they fully benefit from these improvements while maintaining network integrity and performance.
We understand that different stakers have different needs. That’s why Chorus One will continue to support both validator prefix types (0x01 and 0x02). However, we strongly encourage our clients to transition to the 0x02 validator type, as it offers higher rewards through compounded rewards, while also enhancing network efficiency.
For existing Chorus One clients, we offer a smooth transition to Pectra’s 0x02 validator format. For new clients, if you’re considering moving your stake to Chorus One, enjoy a seamless onboarding process, where you can deploy a new 0x02 validator, maximizing staking efficiency from day one.
To ensure our clients experience the full benefit of Pectra’s compounding feature, Chorus One will implement a custom effective balance limit for 0x02 validators, set at 1910 ETH. This accounts for around 2 years of compounding rewards at a rate of 3.5% annualized, before reaching the 2048 ETH cap, allowing for sustained reward optimization.
At Chorus One, we optimize staking operations in order to maximize performance and rewards. Through leading early-stage research, collaboration with other industry leaders, and advanced testing of new implementations, we aim to provide our clients with the highest possible returns, while actively contributing to Ethereum’s long-term security and efficiency.
Ethereum validators play a crucial role in Maximal Extractable Value (MEV). Our team is at the forefront of reward optimization for our stakers. In 2024, we worked on our proprietary mev-boost fork called Adagio. Our research showed that Adagio delivered a total improvement of 16.67% in MEV rewards from June 2024 until the end of the year. To learn more, click here.
In 2025, we stopped using the Adagio model as relays began to exploit timing games. Our focus has now shifted to optimizing connectivity to relays rather than fine-tuning timing parameters. Since then, we’ve focused on:
This way, we’re able to optimize for rewards and performance for our stakers.
We stay ahead of the curve by actively testing and implementing groundbreaking technologies that enhance staking rewards. Working alongside key players, including Chainbound/Bold, Primev, and ETHGas, we stay vigilant in testing and implementing cutting-edge solutions. In fact, Chorus One led the first-ever preconfirmations using Bolt during the ZuBerlin and Helder testnets.
We have since continued to conduct and share our research, with the most recent additions being our research paper on Pricing Transactions for Preconfirmations. You can also try out our preconfs dashboard, which allows you to test pricing strategies across more than 400k transactions. Plus, access our very own Random Forest Model, which outperformed even the Geth’s heuristics-based transaction fee-pricing.
We provide unique opportunities to enhance staking rewards through Distributed Validator Technology (DVT), in collaboration with industry leaders such as Obol and SSV. Our deep involvement in Ethereum research and development positions us as the most capable and reliable staking operator.
Want to start maximizing your ETH staking rewards with a leading staking provider?
This wouldn't be an analysis of Pectra without addressing the elephant in the room, Holesky. On Monday, February 24, 2025, the Pectra upgrade was activated on the Holesky testnet. Unfortunately, a bug in specific Execution Layer (EL) clients (specifically Geth, Nethermind, and Besu) caused them to use the wrong deposit contract address. As a result, these clients processed a block incorrectly, leading to a network split where:
This divergence created two chains:
Because most validators followed the incorrect chain, the overall network health degraded, making it difficult for nodes to sync to the correct chain and potentially undermining the reliability of testnet transactions.
To resolve the issue, Ethereum developers proposed a coordinated slashing approach. The plan aimed to:
Holesky validators were instructed to update their clients to patched versions, sync to the valid chain and disable slashing protection by slot 3737760 to enable attestations to the correct chain.
A coordination call was scheduled to guide node operators, with Chorus One among the participants. Unfortunately, this slashing experiment failed, leaving Holesky in a prolonged period of instability.
In response, Ethereum developers launched a new testnet called Hoodi in late March 2025. Chorus One became one of the 29 Hoodi genesis validators to help with the network’s launch and to be among the first entities active on the new testnet for Pectra. Hoodi mirrors mainnet conditions more closely, with a similar validator count and infrastructure. Pectra was deployed there and finalized just 30 minutes after activation, a sharp contrast to the Holesky failure. Hoodi is now expected to replace Holesky as Ethereum’s primary public testnet later this year.
The Hoodi deployment serves as the final dress rehearsal for Pectra.
The Pectra Hardfork represents a watershed moment for Ethereum, redefining what’s possible for both individual stakers and large-scale institutions. As a leading validator service provider, Chorus One stands at the forefront of these changes, offering modern solutions that transform the way you stake and manage your crypto assets.
If you’re ready to experience optimal performance, higher rewards, and a truly next-gen staking platform, contact us or visit our website to learn more about how Chorus One can help you thrive in the Pectra era. Let’s enter this exciting new chapter of Ethereum staking together.
