Laser Digital, a crypto-focused subsidiary of Japanese asset manager Nomura, has launched an institutionally focused liquid staking fund on the Polygon network in collaboration with TruFin. The fund, called the Laser Digital Polygon Adoption Fund, aims to provide institutional clients with exposure to Polygon’s native gas token, MATIC, along with access to staking rewards. The fund is specifically targeted towards sovereign wealth funds, institutional funds, and private asset managers, showcasing a growing interest in decentralized security among institutional investors.
The fund offers investors the opportunity to earn staking rewards for MATIC, which are currently estimated at 5.94% annually. By utilizing TruFin’s liquid staking solution, investors can access yields higher than the average of 5% offered by Lido, while also having the flexibility to sell their tokens at any time. TruFin has partnered with Balancer and Chainlink to enhance the liquidity of the TruMATIC token. The fund leverages the Polygon AggLayer technology to aggregate zero-knowledge proofs from connected blockchains, increasing liquidity and transaction speed while optimizing operational efficiency.
The Laser Digital Polygon Adoption Fund will initially be available to investors in the United Kingdom after completing necessary registrations and regulatory approvals. Sebastien Guglietta, Head of Laser Digital Asset Management, expressed the company’s goal of transforming decentralized finance (DeFi) investment opportunities into traditional finance (TradFi) solutions. By leveraging TruFin technology and integration with Polygon’s AggLayer, the fund aims to make Polygon-MATIC digital asset investment accessible in a secure and efficient manner for institutional investors.
Colin Butler, Global Head of Institutional Capital at Polygon, highlighted the significance of involving institutional investors in staking to enhance the overall security of the Polygon network. Polygon serves as a layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum, the largest smart contract blockchain by volume and market cap. With Ethereum’s recent upgrades reducing the cost of rollups on Polygon, the network is expected to see increased adoption and utilization. This development also benefits Polygon staking, as Ethereum’s settlement costs on Layer 1 have become more cost-effective.
While liquid staking is a popular use case in decentralized finance (DeFi), there are concerns about its potential impact on network centralization. Prominent developers like Vitalik Buterin have cautioned that the growing trend of liquid staking could lead to increased centralization on networks like Ethereum. Despite these concerns, the launch of the Laser Digital Polygon Adoption Fund represents another milestone in expanding institutional participation in cryptocurrency staking and DeFi investment opportunities. As more institutions enter the space, the landscape of decentralized finance is likely to continue evolving to meet the needs of traditional finance players.
