Node Operator Admission: Bitcoin Suisse as stVault Professional Trusted Operator

Node Operators stVaults Identification
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Identification

Bitcoin Suisse is Switzerland’s leading crypto-financial services provider and co-founder of the Swiss “Crypto Valley”, offering institutional-grade brokerage, trading, custody, lending, and staking solutions since 2013. We have built a robust infrastructure and reputation over 12+ years, with a team of 200+ experts across Switzerland and Europe. Bitcoin Suisse currently operates one of the largest independent Ethereum validator fleets globally - around 20,000 active validators representing ~1.8% of the network.

Bitcoin Suisse has long-term relationship to Ethereum, facilitating their private sale in 2014, deep Ethereum staking experience dating back to the Ethereum Beacon Chain genesis and has been a pioneer in integrating new staking technologies.

Our track record demonstrates Bitcoin Suisse’s commitment to cutting-edge, high-reliability staking - both as an individual operator and as part of multi-operator (DVT) clusters. We are well positioned to meet Lido’s standards for identified node operators and contribute meaningfully to Ethereum’s decentralization through stVaults.

Business Case

Bitcoin Suisse will help drive stVault adoption by onboarding institutional and high-net-worth clients who need trusted, compliant staking with transparent control. Customized stVaults will allow them to access stETH liquidity while meeting internal oversight standards and regulatory requirements. Becoming a Professional Trusted Operator enables us to offer these clients low reserve ratios and high minting capacity.

As founding member of the Liechtenstain Trust Integrity Network (“LTIN”), the first nation-backed blockchain infrastructure platform, we help to bring institutional Ethereum Liquid Staking demand via LTIN to Lido V3 stVaults.

We are also working with DeFi partners to develop compliant, yield-enhancing vaults using restaking and secure validation. With ISAE 3402 Type 2 certified custody and deep institutional ties, we aim to bring substantial capital into the stETH ecosystem. Our role spans both sides of growth: onboarding large ETH holders and operating secure, efficient infrastructure.

In summary, Bitcoin Suisse will directly contribute to Lido V3’s adoption through both demand-side integration (onboarding large ETH holders) and supply-side excellence (running highly secure and efficient validators).

Ops & Decentralization
We run both DVT and non-DVT validators across Tier-III+ data centers in Switzerland and Europe. We use a diverse mix of consensus and execution clients. DVT clusters (via Obol) will be used for Lido, while the currently used non-DVT setups meet the same high standard as DVT.

Operations follow strict rollout procedures with live monitoring. A 24/7 rotation team tracks validator health and responds instantly to issues. Real-time alerts cover all key metrics to ensure uptime and reliability.

Reliability
We maintain high effectiveness and uptime through 24/7 monitoring, staged rollouts, and real-time telemetry.

Security
For our custody and staking platform, keys are secured with audited, in-house HSM infrastructure. Systems undergo regular third-party audits as part of our certified custody setup.

We follow the Node Operator Risk Standard (NORS) framework and “ValOS” (the former D.U.C.K.S. standard), to which we have been a contributor early on.

Overall, our setup meets high institutional security standards.

MEV & Neutrality
We use diverse MEV relays with fall back to local block building to ensure liveness. Our approach is flexible and can be tailored to specific client needs. Clients may choose OFAC-compliant or neutral relays. We closely monitor performance and select only top-performing relays, focusing on uptime, safety, and Ethereum-aligned neutrality. We never participated in playing “Timing Games”, as we believe this is of adverse effect for the overall network stability. In this context, are also in close discussions with various projects in the field of pre-confirmations.

Security & Compliance

Bitcoin Suisse is a VQF-regulated Swiss financial intermediary, operating under AML/CFT rules in line with Swiss law. We apply strict KYC(B) and compliance procedures across all services, matching Lido’s standards for Identified Node Operators. Governance and transparency are core principles - we maintain audit trails for key actions and will publish regular vault and attestation reports.

Our custody and staking platform is ISAE 3402 Type 2 certified, audited by PwC. We also conduct regular code audits and penetration tests via third-party firms such as Zühlke and Compass Security.

As a trusted operator, we will stay in direct contact with the stVaults Committee and broader community to support secure, reliable, and transparent operations in Lido V3.

Links

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Hi! Thanks for applying, it’s great to see you moving forward with onboarding as a stVaults Node Operator.

The stVaults Committee has started the assessment process, and we’ll keep you updated as things progress.

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As a delegate of the stVaults Committee, I am posting to confirm that the relevant ET motions establishing Bitcoin Suisse’s status as an stVaults Identified Node Operator have now been enacted.

Due to the timing of Bitcoin Suisse’s application, the committee has completed the assessment required for the Basic Identified Operator Category at this stage. Accordingly, Bitcoin Suisse has been assigned to the Basic Identified Operator Category under the stVaults framework. The assessment of the extended application materials required for the Professional stVault Operator category is expected to be revisited in Q1 2026, during the next review window.