Episode #182: Live from Merge Sao Paulo: Staking Goes Global with Figment's Sthefano Batista

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Ola pessoal!

I had the chance to catch up with Sthefano Batista at Merge Sao Paulo. Sthefano is Head of Latam at Figment, which is the world’s largest provider of institutional staking services with more than $18 billion in assets staked.

Figment counts BlackRock, Nubank, and Robinhood among its clients, and is responsible for 5 to 6 percent of all Ethereum validated globally.

Why Institutions Are Embracing Staking

For traditional finance, digital asset staking is a genuinely new concept. It is not a bond. It is not a dividend. The yield comes from supporting the network itself, and the risk profile is fundamentally different from anything in a legacy portfolio.

What has resonated with institutional clients, Sthefano explains, is precisely that difference. Staking on a network like Solana or Ethereum, done correctly through a non-custodial provider, means client assets never leave their wallets. Figment never touches private keys. If Figment disappeared tomorrow, clients would still have their assets.

That can be a hard pitch to make to compliance teams. But once it lands, it tends to land well.

The Edge Is in the Details

Figment’s positioning is not built on offering the highest yields. It is built on risk-adjusted performance, and that distinction matters.

The firm has a dedicated protocol team that vets every network before onboarding it, monitors governance and inflationary changes, and helps institutional clients understand what updates like Solana’s FireDancer mean in practice. They have never had a slashing event in their history. When you are validating 5 percent of all Ethereum, you do not take shortcuts.

Brazil as a Test Case for Regulated Staking

Brazil’s updated VASP framework, revised last November, has created one of the clearest regulatory environments for staking anywhere in the world. For Figment, that has been a genuine business accelerant, giving Faria Lima institutions the confidence to move from curiosity to commitment.

Sthefano frames it well: the blockchain is global, but how Brazil thinks about investment risk, inflation, and wealth protection is distinctly local. You need people on the ground who understand both.

Key Takeaways

* Figment manages $18B in staked assets and validates 5 to 6% of all Ethereum

* Non-custodial staking means client assets are never held by Figment

* Brazil’s VASP regulation has created a clear, compliant path for institutional staking

* BlackRock and Nubank are among Figment’s publicly confirmed clients

* Figment just launched a USDC yield product and is expanding across the Americas

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