White-Label Staking for Exchanges: Everstake VaaS

TL;DR

Everstake VaaS lets an exchange or wallet ship a staking product without building validator infrastructure. The platform integrates an API and SDK, users delegate from the platform; Everstake runs the validators and shares fees with the partner.

• Networks supported: 130+ Proof-of-Stake chains to date
• Uptime SLA: 99.98%
• Material slashing events on major networks to date: 0
• Compliance baseline: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, NIST CSF
• Integration time: Partner dependent – 72 hours (REST API only) to 6 weeks (full SDK)
• Reference partners: Exodus, Trezor

This guide explains how white-label staking works for exchanges and wallets, how to evaluate vendors, and how to scope an integration with Everstake.

What is white-label staking

White-label staking is a B2B arrangement where a platform offers users delegation to validators it does not operate itself. The exchange or wallet keeps its brand, UI, and user relationship; the staking provider operates the validator nodes, signs blocks, and absorbs the operational burden.

Running validators in-house requires a different operating model than running an exchange. A platform engineering team would need to:

• Provision and harden bare-metal or cloud nodes across multiple regions.
• Maintain client diversity for ETH and other PoS networks.
• Handle key management with HSM-backed signers.
• Monitor for missed attestations, double-signs, and downtime that can trigger slashing.
• Track network upgrades and hard-fork timelines for every supported chain.

White-label staking outsources that operational burden to a specialized team. The partner platform exposes staking from its own front end, while a vendor like Everstake runs the infrastructure layer underneath.

The model differs from referral programs and custodial products.

Delegations remain on-chain and non-custodial, and Everstake never holds end-user keys.

Why exchanges add staking

Staking is now a baseline feature on most top–20 exchanges. Adding it serves as a retention method that keeps users on the platform instead of moving them to a dedicated staking app.

Exchanges stake on behalf of retail and institutional users, aggregating many small deposits into a unified staking venue. The exchange is not the economic beneficiary, it takes a commission share and passes the rest of the reward through to end customers.

Common drivers cited by exchange product teams include:

• Fee share on network rewards routed through the integration.
• Retention, since staked balances are stickier than spot balances.
• Activation, because staking puts dormant assets on-chain securing the network.
• Parity with competitors that already offer ETH, SOL, and ATOM staking.
• Token coverage for newer L1s where native staking is the primary user action.
• The exchange also gains a revenue line that does not depend on trading volume.

Liquidity, custody, and what’s different for exchanges

Exchanges face a constraint that treasuries and self-custodial wallets do not: users expect on-demand withdrawals, but Proof-of-Stake networks impose unbonding periods of days to weeks. The integration has to absorb that mismatch without breaking the user-facing redemption flow.

Common patterns include hot/cold unstaked buffers and server-side delegation routing. 

Everstake VaaS exposes per-network unbonding metadata via the API so exchange treasury teams can size buffers per asset.

Custody sits with the exchange, not with Everstake. Custodial exchanges hold user funds and route delegations server-to-server; Everstake runs the validators non-custodially and never touches keys.

Per-user reward attribution is the other exchange-specific lift. The REST API exposes delegation, reward, and event data per address, which exchange ledger systems map back to sub-accounts for reporting, and internal audit and accounting.

Integration models: API, SDK

Everstake VaaS ships in several integration modes so partner teams can pick the level of effort that matches their roadmap. Each mode covers the same underlying validator network; the difference is how much of the staking flow the partner builds versus consumes.

The options are:

Mode	What the partner builds	Time to launch	Best for
REST API	All UI, all flows, all state	72 hours to 3 weeks	Exchanges with mature dev teams
SDK (TypeScript / Swift / Kotlin)	UI shell; SDK handles staking logic	72 hours to 5 weeks	Wallets and mobile-first apps

The REST API is the lowest-level integration. It exposes endpoints for delegations, undelegations, reward queries, validator metadata, and webhook events.

The SDK adds opinionated client logic. It handles transaction construction, fee estimation, retry behavior, and reward indexing across the networks.

All modes use the same back-end validators, the same SLA, and the same fee-share economics. For exchanges, the REST API path is typical because exchange back-ends already manage user state, sub-accounting, and ledger reconciliation server-side.

Supported networks

Everstake VaaS actively supports 30+ Proof-of-Stake networks across L1s, L2s, and app-chains with experience running 130+ networks. Coverage spans assets that drive most of the institutional staking demand today.

Representative network groups include:

• EVM and L2s: Ethereum, Polygon
• High-throughput L1s: Solana, Sui, Aptos, Sei, Near, Monad, Aleo
• Cosmos ecosystem: Cosmos Hub, Injective, Kava
• Other PoS L1s: Cardano, Tezos

Partners do not need to maintain per-chain logic for receipts, unbonding periods, or reward accrual. Network additions follow a published roadmap.

SLA and uptime

Everstake operates against a 99.98% validator uptime SLA measured per network per month. The number reflects effective participation, since a running node that misses attestations still costs the partner reward delivery.

The operational stack behind the SLA includes:

• Multi-region node deployments with active failover.
• HSM-backed signers and remote-signer architectures where available.
• Client diversity on Ethereum to limit correlated-fault risk.
• Defined incident-response policies.
• Continuous attestation monitoring and double-sign protection.

Everstake has recorded 0 material slashing events across major networks, and offers partner slashing protection in enterprise contracts on a case-by-case basis.

For exchanges, slashing exposure is reputational at user scale since a single event affects many sub-accounts at once. 

White-label model

The white-label model is a fee share on the staking commission, not a fixed license. Everstake charges a network-level commission on rewards generated by delegations routed through the integration; that commission is split between Everstake and the partner platform.

Commission rates are network-specific because base rates vary widely between ETH, SOL, ATOM, and others. Exchanges typically negotiate commission splits hard because every basis point compounds across the user base.

Onboarding timeline

A standard white-label staking onboarding with Everstake runs from 72 hours to 6 weeks depending on integration depth and legal review, mostly on the partner end. The plan assumes an exchange persona with an existing dev team and counsel.

Smaller engagements compress this to 2 to 3 weeks, depending on the speed of processes inside the partner’s team. Larger engagements with custom requirements or multi-jurisdiction legal review extend further.

A dedicated solutions engineer is assigned per partner during integration. Post-launch, a technical account manager is always ready to answer all the questions and assist.

Case studies

Two reference partners illustrate how white-label staking maps to different platform shapes: an institutional custody provider and a self-custodial wallet.

Paribu Custody

Paribu Custody is Turkey‘s first institutional-grade digital asset custody provider, built on its proprietary ColdShield® security technology. The team needed a validator partner supporting multiple networks with enterprise-grade uptime, without compromising the custody model.

Everstake was selected as a whitelisted validator and integrated through an API-first model. Paribu Custody clients can stake assets on Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, and other networks directly from within the custody environment, preserving custody integrity while enabling staking.

The validator infrastructure is globally distributed and non-custodial, certified under SOC 2 Type II, ISO/IEC 27001:2022, and NIST CSF, with GDPR and CCPA alignment. Performance has held at 99.98% uptime since inception with 0 material slashing events.

Exodus

Exodus is a financial technology provider offering an integrated environment for managing, sending, and receiving cryptocurrencies. As Exodus expanded into staking, the team needed an infrastructure partner that could deliver consistent validator performance across multiple networks without compromising user asset control.

Everstake became the exclusive staking provider for Exodus, supplying audited, globally distributed validator infrastructure aligned with SOC 2 Type II, ISO/IEC 27001:2022, and NIST CSF 2.0. The non-custodial model lets Exodus users keep full ownership of their assets throughout the staking flow.

The result was an in-wallet staking experience that preserved the simplicity of the Exodus wallet. Users can stake supported assets without leaving the wallet or handing over their keys.

Compliance and security

White-label staking partners inherit the compliance of their staking vendor. Everstake operates against a control set used by exchanges and custodians for vendor due diligence.

Current certifications and frameworks include:

• SOC 2 Type II report covering security, availability, and confidentiality.
• ISO 27001 information-security management certification.
• NIST CSF alignment for cyber-risk processes.
• Documented audit trails for delegations, reward distributions, and operational events.

For exchanges, the vendor’s compliance maps directly onto their own audit and regulatory exposure. Staking-as-a-service offerings to retail face securities-law scrutiny in some jurisdictions, and exchange counsel typically requires the vendor to provide SOC 2 Type II reports and incident-response history as part of vendor onboarding.

Choosing a white-label staking provider

A short evaluation matrix matters more than a long feature list when choosing a B2B staking vendor. Most exchange and wallet teams compare 3 to 5 vendors against a fixed set of criteria.

Recommended evaluation criteria, in priority order:

1. Slashing track record across all operated networks, with public addresses for verification.
2. Uptime data measured per network per month, not blended across the validator fleet.
3. Network coverage matched to the partner’s product roadmap.
4. Integration surface: presence of REST API, SDK, and embedded UI options.
5. Security posture: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, key-management architecture.
6. Commercial terms: transparency.
7. If any slashing scenarios are covered and at what cap.
8. Operational maturity: incident-response SLA, documentation.
9. Reference partners: live integrations the vendor will name and that pass reference calls.

Trade-offs differ by persona. Exchanges weigh SLA, indemnification, per-user reward attribution, and unbonding-buffer support heavily; wallets weigh SDK ergonomics and network breadth; custodians weigh compliance documentation and key-management architecture.

Get started with Everstake VaaS

The fastest path to a production staking integration is a 30-minute scoping call covering networks and integration mode. Everstake returns a draft commercial sheet, sandbox credentials, and an integration plan within 5 business days.

Next steps for an interested platform team:

1. Request a VaaS demo via the Everstake VaaS product page.
2. Share the target network list.
3. Pick an integration mode: REST API or SDK.
4. Receive sandbox access and a draft MSA for legal review.

Cross-references for related personas:

• For exchange positioning, see staking for exchanges.
• For wallets, see the wallet SDK and API guide.
• For custodians, see the custodian white-label staking.

FAQ

How long does a white-label staking integration take?

Integration with Everstake VaaS takes from 72 hours to 6 weeks for standard scopes, mostly dependent on the partner integration pace.

Do partners need to hold user keys?

Custody depends on the partner’s own model, not on Everstake. Custodial exchanges hold user funds and route delegations server-to-server; self-custodial wallets like Exodus and hardware wallets like Trezor keep keys with the user, and Everstake never sees them.

How is slashing handled?

Everstake has recorded 0 material slashing events across its validator history. Slashing protection could be offered.

What networks are supported?

Everstake VaaS actively supports 30+ Proof-of-Stake networks (and 130+ historically), including Ethereum, Solana, Cosmos Hub, Cardano, Polygon, Tezos, Sui, Aptos, Near and others.

How does Everstake handle exchange-specific reporting needs?

Everstake VaaS exposes per-address delegation, reward, and event data through the REST API and webhooks. Exchange back-ends map this data to sub-accounts for ledger reconciliation and internal records.

Does Everstake support our jurisdiction?

Everstake works with partners across the EU, UK, US, APAC, and LATAM. For more information reach out via the contact us form.

What integration modes are available?

Two modes are available: REST API and Wallet SDK. The choice depends on how much of the staking flow the partner wants to build versus consume.

What uptime SLA does Everstake commit to?

Everstake operates against a 99.98% validator uptime SLA measured per network per month. The number reflects effective participation rather than just node availability.

What compliance frameworks does Everstake meet?

Everstake holds SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certifications, and aligns with NIST CSF, GDPR, and CPRA.

Disclaimer

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. Nothing here is an endorsement or recommendation to buy, sell, hold, or stake any digital asset, or to use any platform or service mentioned. Mention of third parties does not imply affiliation or endorsement.

Digital assets and staking carry significant risks, including volatility, regulatory uncertainty, and total loss of capital. Data referenced reflects publicly available sources as of the date of publication and may change. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals before making any decisions.