Starknet Secures $365 Million in Consensus Value as Anchorage Digital Activates Institutional Bitcoin Staking

Anchorage Digital has announced its support for Bitcoin (BTC) staking on Starknet, enabling institutional clients to stake wrapped BTC tokens and earn rewards through its platform. The initiative, highlighted in a recent social media post by Anchorage Digital at Devconnect, leverages the firm's institutional-grade self-custody wallet, Porto, and its regulated services. This development has significantly bolstered Starknet's network, with its combined consensus value surging to over $365 million.

The integration allows institutions to securely participate in Starknet's consensus mechanism, marking a crucial step for the BTCfi ecosystem. Anchorage Digital, a federally chartered crypto bank, provides a compliant gateway for institutional capital into the Layer 2 network. "Proud to support: BTC staking on @Starknet," Anchorage Digital stated, adding that clients can "Stake BTC wrapper tokens and collect rewards through the Anchorage Digital platform and Porto, our institutional-grade self-custody wallet."

Starknet, a Layer 2 scaling solution for Bitcoin and Ethereum, utilizes zero-knowledge proofs to enhance throughput and reduce transaction fees. The network's "Grinta" upgrade, implemented in September 2025, facilitated this dual-staking framework, allowing both native STRK tokens and wrapped Bitcoin to secure the network. This strategic move positions Starknet at the intersection of Bitcoin's store-of-value properties and Ethereum's programmability.

Following the announcement, Starknet registered 915.31 million staked STRK tokens and 1,480 BTC, with approximately $65 million in staked assets added within six hours. Bitcoin stakers on Starknet can earn an annual percentage rate (APR) of 5.63%, generated exclusively from new STRK emissions, operating under a maximum annual inflation cap of 4.00%. To maintain network governance balance, Bitcoin's voting power is capped at 25% of the total consensus weight.

This expansion underscores a growing demand for secure and regulated yield-generating opportunities within the crypto space for institutional investors. Anchorage Digital's CEO and Co-Founder, Nathan McCauley, emphasized their mission to provide institutions with "safe and seamless access to growing crypto ecosystems." StarkWare Co-Founder and CEO, Eli Ben-Sasson, highlighted the partnership as a response to the "growing demand for robust, secure staking options" from both developers and financial institutions.