Connecting Regions and Markets: How Kiln’s Tailored Staking Solutions Are Driving Crypto Growth 

In this conversation, Colin Verhaegen , Head of Sales for APAC at Kiln This discussion offers a glimpse into the changing dynamics of institutional staking and its surge in popularity across global markets. As staking has evolved from a niche activity into a sophisticated financial service, Verhaegen provides insights into Kiln’s journey from a fledgling French enterprise to an influential force managing over 40 protocols and aligning with major exchanges in Asia. 

He elaborates on the company’s strategy for white-labeled liquid staking solutions and regional adoption patterns, emphasizing how Kiln responds to the growing needs of the institutional sector while proudly maintaining a flawless slate of reliability, a crucial benchmark in the expanding domain of digital asset rewards.

Could you tell us about your journey into the Web3 space? What brought you to Kiln?

I would say my entry into crypto wasn’t the typical route many choose. I wasn’t a major player or a speculative trader; my involvement was limited largely to a few trades during 2020 and 2021. 

It was during that time that I began contemplating whether there was a viable career path in this field. I wanted to know if there was more to the industry than just chasing ICOs and deciphering the underlying mechanics. A university friend of mine worked at Kraken Ventures, a prominent venture capital firm in the crypto sector. Towards the end of 2021 or early 2022, I reached out to inquire if real career opportunities existed in crypto and blockchain, and what companies they were focusing on or investing in. He mentioned a small, solid French firm involved in staking, and offered to introduce me to their founder, Laszlo, who is now our CEO. The rest, as they say, is history. 

It’s been nearly three years since then. Back then, we weren’t even called Kiln; we had a different name altogether. Our team expanded rapidly from about 10-15 individuals in 2022 to 85 today. That’s a snapshot of my personal journey into the world of crypto. Approximately a year ago, I was relocated to Singapore to establish our APAC office, with the goal of replicating our successful strategies from Europe and infusing that spirit into the APAC market.

Can you share more about Kiln’s stance on staking and restaking?

Staking is at the heart of what we do. Initially, we focused primarily on Ethereum, being among the pioneers in staking services with Lido. However, we quickly branched out to include a variety of other protocols, and we now operate across around 40 distinct platforms. 

The concept of restaking has become increasingly relevant. Just as we were early adopters of both staking and liquid staking through Lido, we've also taken the lead in restaking protocols like EigenLayer. We manage a significant number of Averaged Staking Validators (AVSs), assisting restakers in maximizing rewards by rehypothecating their ETH and opting into actively validated services on EigenLayer to enhance returns from their assets.

This process is managed through our own operations. We also oversee several white-label solutions for liquid restaking protocols. In fact, we rank as the second-largest EigenLayer restaked operator right after Coinbase. Additionally, we support other pioneering projects in this arena, such as Symbiotic on Ethereum and Jito restaking on Solana.

How does Kiln differentiate its approach to liquid staking tokens compared to other players in the market?

The standard method for staking typically requires 32 ETH to participate natively. However, not every investor has that much at their disposal – currently, 32 ETH equates to approximately $91,566. This situation led to the advent of liquid staking, allowing users to stake smaller amounts through platforms like Lido and Rocket Pool.

What sets us apart is our distinct white-label strategy for our offerings. We empower other businesses to issue their own liquid staking derivatives (LSDs), allowing for brand customization. Imagine if a significant exchange wanted to launch their own liquid staking token, branding it as ‘Trust Wallet ETH' or ‘Bitget ETH.’ We can facilitate that for them while they manage their entire ecosystem. Looking ahead, we might even witness institutions launching their proprietary LSDs, potentially called ‘BlackRock ETH.’

This model provides these entities with considerable control over various parameters, such as whether the staking is permissioned or permissionless, the type of token being issued, and the DeFi landscape they wish to cultivate around it. Our offering is quite unique in that regards, providing substantial support for institutions.

Could you go into detail about the technical challenges of operating over 40 protocols?

Managing 40 or 50 protocols today is definitely no small feat, especially given the high standards we maintain to ensure everything operates seamlessly, with no slashing incidents, missed rewards, and guaranteeing that our customers can place their full trust in us regarding their assets and the performance we provide.

A significant part of the solution lies in our ability to standardize operations. Our Site Reliability Engineers (SREs) and other team members are dedicated to refining the processes for deploying, managing, and monitoring these protocols in containerized environments, such as Kubernetes. They work closely with our product team, smart contracts team, and protocol specialists, as each protocol has its own unique characteristics.

Our ultimate goal is to scale and monitor all operations effectively to ensure efficient management. We handle everything internally because we view these functions as critical to our business. This sometimes means turning down certain protocols if they fail to meet our standards or pose excessive risk. We also have the flexibility to discontinue support for protocols that aren't performing as anticipated or where better opportunities arise. Our teams consistently invest considerable technical effort into this.

You’ve mentioned your collaboration with EigenLayer. What benefits come with working alongside such a protocol?

Supporting emerging protocols like EigenLayer on a large scale while ensuring accessibility to targeted markets is quite challenging. Our forte lies in technical expertise, which we’ve cultivated alongside the EigenLayer team. But distribution is equally essential.

This is where Kiln excels. With our extensive distribution network, various partnerships, and a solid reputation, we can propagate these protocols and their opportunities to our clientele, predominantly comprising institutional clients. 

For instance, our collaboration with EigenLayer led to the creation of a custom integration funnel within the Crypto.com portal, enabling users to stake and restake their ETH without navigating the complexities of the EigenLayer platform directly. We simplify everything and provide a seamless, one-click solution.

We undertake similar initiatives when collaborating with custody services, aiming to streamline reporting, workflows, and user interaction so our partners can confidently rely on us to develop that technology and flow for them.

Are there noticeable differences in the blockchain and Web3 sectors between Europe and Asia at this moment?  

Absolutely, regional variations are evident across the US, Europe, and Asia. Different protocols tend to gain traction in specific areas, and our clientele also varies significantly.

In the Asia/APAC region, many of our major clients are exchanges. If you assess the top 10-20 centralized exchanges globally, you'll find that roughly 80% are located in APAC. This creates a robust retail and exchange landscape, driving rapid adoption since these large exchanges cater to vast retail user bases.

However, it’s not just about client types; the technologies being developed also showcase distinct preferences. For example, regions like Asia tend to emphasize applications like GameFi, whereas the US and Europe are often more focused on infrastructure development.

In short, there are definitely noticeable global differences in adoption rates, client demographics, and the kinds of technologies being prioritized across these regions.

How does Kiln customize its offerings to cater to custodians, exchanges, and wallets? What strategies do you implement to address the distinct needs of each client?

Our clientele encompasses a diverse array of entities, including custodians, centralized exchanges, and retail wallets. While many of our products are versatile enough to work across all these groups, tailored implementations or perspectives are often necessary.

Custodians like Komainu, Laser Digital, and Hex Trust depend heavily on our reporting APIs. Accurate insights regarding positions, rewards, and staking metrics are vital for their institutional clients and compliance with regulatory standards.

Exchanges, on the other hand, value our extensive coverage across protocols, as they typically deal with hundreds or even thousands of tokens across numerous protocols.

Wallets prioritize user experience and interface design. They leverage our APIs, SDKs, and smart contracts to create a seamless, feature-rich user experience.

At its core, our staking products and services – encompassing APIs, SDKs, and smart contracts – are designed to be versatile enough to cater to the varying requirements of these different client categories. It’s all about customizing the implementation and focusing on specific areas to suit their individual needs.

What innovations have you introduced in your validators as a service to stand out from competitors for institutional clients?

Connecting Different Regions and Markets: How Kiln’s Custom Staking Solutions Are Boosting Crypto Adoption  Metaverse Post

Colin Verhaegen reflects on Kiln's evolution from a modest French startup to a prominent player in the industry, overseeing more than 40 protocols while partnering with leading exchanges in Asia.

Connecting Different Regions and Markets: How Kiln’s Custom Staking Solutions Are Boosting Crypto Adoption 

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Colin Verhaegen reflects on Kiln's evolution from a modest French startup to a prominent player in the industry, overseeing more than 40 protocols while collaborating with leading exchanges in Asia.

This article offers a glimpse into the rapidly changing landscape of institutional staking, which is experiencing swift growth across global markets. As cryptocurrency staking transitions from a niche phenomenon to a sophisticated financial service, Verhaegen shares the story of Kiln's ascent from a small French startup to a leading force managing over 40 protocols and forging connections with major exchanges throughout Asia. 

He highlights the company’s strategy for providing white-labeled liquid staking solutions and regional adoption trends, emphasizing how Kiln is evolving to meet the growing requirements of the institutional sector while proudly boasting a zero-slashing record—an essential indicator of trustworthiness in the emergent realm of digital asset rewards.

Could you walk us through your journey into Web3? What brought you to Kiln?

I’d say my entry wasn’t the conventional route most typically follow in the crypto sphere. I wasn’t a prominent investor or deep into trading; I only engaged a little during 2020 and 2021. 

It was around that time that I began to ponder if there really was a career path available here. Is there more to it than just participating in ICOs and attempting to grasp the fundamentals beneath the surface? A university connection of mine had landed a position at Kraken Ventures, a significant VC within the crypto landscape. Towards the tail end of 2021 or the start of 2022, I inquired whether there were actual job opportunities in crypto and blockchain. He mentioned a small French company focusing on staking that had a solid reputation, and he offered to introduce me to Laszlo, their founder, who is now our CEO. And the rest, as they say, is history. 

It’s been nearly three years since then. At that time, we weren’t even called Kiln; we still had a different name. Our team grew from about 10-15 in 2022 to 85 today. So that's a little background about my personal journey and how I got into the crypto space. About a year ago, they decided to transfer me to Singapore to establish the APAC office, aiming to recreate the successful strategies we implemented in Europe and at our headquarters and infuse that approach into the APAC market.

Can you expand on Kiln’s strategy for staking and restaking?

Staking is really at the heart of what we do. We initially began our journey focusing primarily on Ethereum, being among the first staking providers on the Lido platform. However, we rapidly diversified by branching into other protocols, and now we’re managing about 40 different ones. 

Restaking is a relatively new concept we’re tackling. Just as we were early advocates for staking and liquid staking with Lido, we’ve also jumped in as early providers of restaking protocols, such as EigenLayer. We manage a significant amount of asset-verified services (AVSs) and assist restakers in maximizing their rewards through rehypothecation of their ETH and venturing into actively validated services on EigenLayer to enhance the profits generated from their holdings.

We facilitate this through our own operations, and we also provide white-label services for liquid restaking protocols. I believe we rank as the second-largest operator of EigenLayer restakings, right behind Coinbase. Additionally, we’re backing other pioneering projects in this arena, like Symbiotic on Ethereum and Jito restaking on Solana.