Fireblocks has integrated RAW signing with Iagon’s Cardano nodes, a move that gives institutional investors a new pathway to stake ADA. The integration, announced Tuesday, lets Fireblocks customers use Iagon’s infrastructure to participate in Cardano staking while keeping private keys inside the Fireblocks custody environment.
What RAW signing does
RAW signing is a cryptographic method that allows transaction signing to happen without exposing the private key to the node operator. In practice, a Fireblocks client sends a partially signed transaction to Iagon’s node; the node adds its signature only after verifying the transaction matches the staking protocol. The private key never leaves Fireblocks’ secure enclave.
For institutions, that separation matters. Staking ADA typically requires delegating funds to a pool operator or running a node, both of which involve some degree of key exposure. RAW signing eliminates that risk by keeping the signing process isolated from the node itself.
Why Cardano needed this
Cardano has long been a top proof-of-stake network by market cap, but institutional adoption has lagged behind Ethereum and Solana. One reason: staking ADA on Cardano usually means locking tokens into a pool where the operator controls the signing. For compliance-heavy firms, that arrangement creates custody and audit headaches.
Fireblocks already supports staking for Ethereum, Solana, and several other networks. Adding Cardano through Iagon’s nodes fills a gap that portfolio managers and custodians had flagged. The company said the integration is live now and open to all Fireblocks customers who hold ADA.
What Iagon brings
Iagon runs a decentralized network of Cardano nodes. By partnering with Fireblocks, it becomes a staking infrastructure provider for institutional clients without requiring them to run their own nodes. Iagon’s nodes handle the block production and validation; Fireblocks handles the key management. The two never mix.
The arrangement also allows institutions to stake ADA while maintaining full control over their tokens. If a client wants to unstake and move funds, they can do so without waiting for a withdrawal period — the RAW signing setup lets them sign a transaction immediately.
Neither company disclosed the number of nodes involved or the total ADA currently staked through the partnership. But Fireblocks said the integration is designed to scale as more institutions seek exposure to Cardano.
The next test will be whether the setup passes muster with auditors and compliance teams at the largest crypto funds. Fireblocks expects the first institutional staking flows to begin within the next two weeks.
