Crypto data platform The Tie acquires Stakin in cash-and-equity deal

The Tie, a crypto data and services platform for institutional clients, has acquired Stakin, a staking services provider with more than $1 billion in assets under delegation, marking its first acquisition and its entry into crypto infrastructure.

Acquisition talks began in August 2025, and the deal has fully closed, with no approvals pending, The Tie co-founder and CEO Joshua Frank told The Block.

The deal size was not disclosed, but Frank said it was financed using The Tie’s balance sheet and operating profits, with consideration paid through a combination of cash and equity. The Tie raised $9 million in a Series A round at a post-money valuation of $100 million in 2022 — its only funding round to date — and has been net profitable since inception, Frank said.

The acquisition adds staking as a new business line under a newly launched infrastructure solutions division at The Tie. Until now, the company has offered crypto data, advisory, and workflow tools across its market intelligence (The Tie Terminal), compliant communication, and corporate access and advisory divisions.

The Tie says it currently serves around 500 institutional clients, including hedge funds, asset managers, banks, venture capital firms, and crypto-native trading firms. The company is U.S.-based and employs roughly 75 full-time employees and contractors, Frank said.

Stakin is based in Estonia and operates non-custodial staking infrastructure across more than 40 blockchain networks. The firm employs 15 people, all of whom are joining The Tie as part of the transaction, Frank said. Stakin has not raised external funding and was fully bootstrapped before the acquisition, he added.

From an operational standpoint, Stakin will continue to run independently, with no changes to its infrastructure or client delivery. Commercially, however, staking will now be bundled into The Tie’s broader institutional platform.

“This acquisition expands our mission: building a unified institutional gateway to digital assets,” Frank said. Stakin co-founder and CEO Edouard Lavidalle said the acquisition is aimed at accelerating the next phase of digital asset adoption.

Beyond staking, The Tie plans to expand its infrastructure offerings over time. Frank said future services could include decentralized bridging, oracles, remote procedure call (RPC) services, permissioned chain infrastructure, and other web3 infrastructure components.

Asked how The Tie differentiates itself from other institutional crypto service providers such as Fireblocks and Talos, Frank said The Tie does not compete directly with those firms, noting that it does not offer custody or an order and execution management system. Instead, its core product remains The Tie Terminal, which is used by institutional clients for market intelligence and workflow, providing a distribution base for complementary services such as staking.

Institutional participation in crypto has grown significantly in recent years, with traditional finance firms increasingly seeking access to digital asset infrastructure. That shift has coincided with a rise in mergers and acquisitions across the sector, as firms look to broaden their offerings and consolidate capabilities.

Crypto advisory firm Areta acted as exclusive strategic and financial advisor to Stakin and as sole financial advisor on the transaction, Areta partner Jan-Philip Grabs told The Block.

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