Coinbase, Blockdaemon and Industry Leaders Introduce NORS Certification for Ethereum Node Operators

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A group of crypto leaders, including Alluvial, Blockdaemon, Chainproof, Coinbase, DV Labs, Eigen Labs, Figment, Galaxy Digital, Nexus Mutual and others, today announced the launch of the Node Operator Risk Standard (NORS) certification — a new benchmark for operational security and risk management within the Ethereum ecosystem.

“The introduction of the Node Operator Risk Standard (NORS) marks a critical advance for the institutional adoption of Ethereum staking,” commented Zane Glauber, Head of Blockchain Infrastructure at Galaxy Digital.

The NORS certification is designed to streamline the due diligence process for banks and large institutions, making it easier for them to trust and engage in Ethereum staking services, as stated in the announcement.

According to Evan Weiss, COO at Alluvial, as large financial institutions become increasingly involved in public blockchain networks, it is essential to have clear security standards in place to attract them and facilitate adoption of the technology.

“By establishing a robust and verifiable framework for validation risk management alongside the formal AICPA attestation process familiar from SOC1 and other security standards, institutions will finally be able to assess the quality of parking infrastructure on a level playing field,” he noted Weiss.

The introduction of the new certification aims to address critical areas such as slash prevention, validator diversity and secure private key management, ensuring a high standard of operational security.

Konstantin Richter, CEO of Blockdaemon, believes that NORS will not only promote institutional Ethereum staking, but also establish a unified and common standard for assessing the risks associated with validators, benefiting both institutions and node operators.

“NORS certification favorably positions Ethereum for wider institutional adoption,” Richter said.

NORS certification is expected to provide a robust framework that enhances security, encourages trust and supports the growth of Ethereum as a trusted asset class for institutional investors.

“It will now be much easier for institutions to do due diligence on staking providers. We are proud to have participated in the NORS Development Working Group to advance the Ethereum stake and expand crypto as a trusted asset class for institutional investors,” said Ben Rodriguez, Senior Protocol Specialist, Coinbase.

Commenting on the launch, Clayton Menzel of Eigen Labs said that NORS will increase trust and reliability across the entire staking ecosystem, including recovery. Eigen Labs contributed NORS expertise to ensure that recovery solutions are accurately represented in the certification.

Joshua Faier, Senior Product Manager at Figment, noted that NORS could fill the gap between existing certifications such as SOC 2 and ISO 27001 by addressing the specific nuances of staking.

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