Marinade Labs Hires Ex-BlockFi, NYDFS Legal Expert Zalika Headley as General Counsel

The Marinade Labs, the company behind Solana’s leading liquid staking protocol, has appointed Zalika Headley as its general advice. The move deepens the focus of marinade in compliance with the regulation and adoption of the institutional while the demand for staking infrastructure to the Solana blockchain continues to increase.

Institution’s interest in Solana Staking reaches new heights

The lease came to a critical juncture for Solana, which gains traction in institutions due to speed, low transaction costs, and growing Defi ecosystems. Marinade, which is a major player in Solana staking with over $ 1.5 billion in total amounts staked throughout the liquid and native staking products, is self-positioning to be a go-to staking provider for institutions.

According to a Q2 2024 report of Messari, institutional staking in Solana has seen a 38% quarter-over-quarter increase, encouraged by increasing ETF discussions and staking-as-a-service partnerships with regulated custodians. The Marinade compliance market, the Marinade Select, and its cooperation with companies such as BitGo, Copper, and Zodia put it in the middle of this institutional momentum.

Headley’s experience covers some of the most critical touchpoints in compliance with the financial and regulation of digital assets. In the blockfi, he became instrumental in global compliance, licensing, and privacy frameworks before the final losses and analysis of the firm. His earlier work with the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has given him a unique exposure to Bitlicense administration and FinTech regulation at a time when the US regulation framework for crypto is rapidly emerging.

“Zalika’s deep experience throughout the regulation of digital ownership, licensing, and business risk will be instrumental as we continue to bridge the gap between decentralized finances and institutional adoption,” said Michael Repetný, CEO of Marinade Labs.

Like the cloud of uncertainty in regulation The crypto scene, headley’s arrival is not just about compliance – this is a strategic difference. In ETF proposals such as Vaneck’s Solana ETF including Marinade as an exclusive staking partner, the legal strictness is now a requirement for institutional trust.

According to Galaxy Research, more than 75% of institutions mention the clarity of regulation and risk management as the leading barriers to participation. Marinade’s investment in the legal infrastructure is a direct response to these concerns, aimed at uniting the billions -billions of unfinished institutional capital.

Future Solana’s institutional: Why marinade bet can pay

With Solana’s integration with financial mainstream-including asset managers such as Franklin Templeton running to tokenized funds-staking infrastructure providers are under pressure to meet compliance standards without compromising decentralization. The dual marinade focus on unauthorized design and regulatory alignment can position it as a model for the next generation of staking platforms.

By carrying a legal veteran like headley, marinade builds a foundation for institutional scale staking on one of the fastest growing blockchain networks.

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Image credits: Marinade Labs

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