Cryptocurrency staking platform Everstake has appointed Grayscale and Fidelity veteran David Kinitsky as its new chief executive officer, the company said on Wednesday.
Kinitsky succeeds Sergii Vasylchuk, who founded Everstake in 2018 and will now transition to the role of its president. The leadership change marks Everstake’s acceleration into institutional and broader global markets, according to a press release.
Participating in so-called proof-of-stake blockchains to earn yield on crypto assets has become a cornerstone of the industry. The arrival of a crypto-friendly administration in the U.S. is expected to bring further clarity on staking and its inclusion in assets underlying the ETF marketplace.
“As staking becomes central to institutional crypto strategy and an investable asset in its own right, now we’re taking Everstake to the next level: reinvesting in the core staking business, scaling to meet institutional demand, and thoughtfully expanding into adjacent opportunities across infrastructure, data, and financial products,” Kinitsky said in a statement.
Kinitsky was the founding general manager of Grayscale Investments, and has also held executive roles at Fidelity Investments, Circle, and Kraken.
Everstake has supported more than 85 blockchain networks, onboarded over 735,000 users into staking, and secured $6.5 billion in delegated assets, according to the release.