Bitwise Asset Management is acquiring institutional staking firm Chorus One, expanding its crypto yield services as demand surges. The deal adds a staking operation managing approximately $2.2 billion in assets. This move aligns with a broader trend of rising institutional interest in onchain yield, evidenced by a record crypto M&A year and swelling Ethereum staking queues.
Bitwise Asset Management is reportedly acquiring institutional staking provider Chorus One. The acquisition extends the crypto asset manager’s push into cryptocurrency yield services for retail and institutional investors.
Chorus One provides staking services for decentralized networks. Its website states it currently has approximately $2.2 billion in assets staked.
The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The news was reported on Wednesday.
Ethereum validator queue data shows a surge in demand to stake Ether. The entry queue has swelled to more than 4 million ETH, translating into a wait time of over 70 days.
Almost 37 million ETH, or just over 30% of total supply, is now staked. This suggests more holders are choosing to lock up ETH despite long delays.
The rising interest has pushed other major asset managers to integrate yield into regulated products. Morgan Stanley filed to launch a spot Ether ETF that would stake part of its holdings.
Grayscale is also preparing to distribute staking rewards from its Ethereum Trust ETF. This would be the first payout tied to onchain staking by a US-listed spot crypto exchange-traded product.
Bitwise’s deal follows a surge in the crypto industry’s mergers and acquisitions in 2025. The activity reached $8.6 billion across a record 133 transactions by November, surpassing the combined total of the previous four years.
Coinbase led the wave, closing six acquisitions. These included the $2.9 billion purchase of crypto derivatives exchange Deribit.
