Marinade, the only staking marketplace protocol built on Solana, announces the appointment of Hadley Stern as Chief Commercial Officer. Stern is a pioneering leader in digital asset custody and blockchain innovation, given his experience as the founding President at Fidelity Digital Asset Services and Global Head of Digital Asset Custody at BNYM. He will spearhead Marinade’s initiatives to strengthen its position as a Solana staking solution in the rapidly evolving digital asset custody landscape.
For decentralized finance to be solidified as the standard system for financial services, DeFi projects need to appeal to retail and institutional investors. Stern’s appointment is pivotal in helping blockchain technology achieve institutional adoption. In 2014, Stern led the launch of the Bitcoin Incubator at Fidelity Investments which led to building a Bitcoin mining operation, introducing Bitcoin donations to Fidelity Charitable, and the eventual founding of Fidelity Digital Asset Services. Bringing a wealth of digital asset custody and traditional finance experience, Stern is uniquely positioned to help Marinade become the staking market solution for any global institution.
“Marinade’s unique staking marketplace model is the best solution for validators, the Solana blockchain, and now, with Marinade Native, for institutions. It is the model for how DeFi will become the standard system for financial services and I’m thrilled to further contribute to this case with my expertise,” says Hadley Stern, the newly appointed Chief Commercial Officer of Marinade.
“We are delighted to welcome Stern to Marinade. This is a huge milestone not only for Marinade but for the entire Solana community. Stern’s deep understanding of digital asset management makes him the ideal candidate to facilitate public trust in Marinade and Solana. Stern brings unique insights that align with our commitment to elevate the overall staking experience and further decentralize Solana. With Stern onboard we are confident Marinade will be the leading staking option for institutions with enhanced rewards, best decentralization, and best security model,” said Michael Repetny, CEO of Marinade Labs.
As institutions are starting to build real-world products and businesses atop Solana having a way for them to participate in the decentralized hardening of the network is critical and Marinade Native enables that. Furthermore, Marinade is partnering with top custody firms Copper and Zodia Custody to deliver institutional-grade security and regulatory compliance. With sophisticated institutional digital asset infrastructures, institutions and investors can experience a protected, optimized SOL native staking experience. This strategic move will contribute to the overall adoption, stability, and safety of Solana; further reinforcing Marinade’s commitment to a truly decentralized future.
Serving over 100,000 users with more than 10M SOL ($1.4B at the time of writing) staked, Marinade is dedicated to making Solana stable, secure, and censorship-resistant. Marinade recently unveiled Stake Auction Marketplace (SAM), a public auction platform where validators can bid for staked SOL. With more than 6M stake distributed to validators on SAM, this new delegation strategy empowers users to maximize their staking rewards.
Marinade further guarantees staking rewards while eliminating smart contract risks through Marinade Native and Protected Staking Rewards (PSR).