Jito Partners with KODA to Expand Institutional Solana Staking in South Korea

Jito Foundation has entered into a strategic partnership with KODA, a prominent South Korean digital asset custodian, to facilitate institutional access to JitoSOL staking and custody services. The collaboration aims to establish compliant pathways for institutional investors to enter the Solana ecosystem through regulated infrastructure. The move comes as South Korea's Financial Services Commission (FSC) prepares to finalize a new digital asset regulatory framework later this year. In a parallel effort to increase institutional exposure, the Jito Foundation is also exploring the potential launch of a JitoSOL exchange-traded fund (ETF) in coordination with Hanwha Asset Management, pending regulatory approval. KODA, which is backed by KB Kookmin Bank, offers institutional-grade vaulting systems including cold storage and MPC-based key management. The custodian carries $20 million in digital asset insurance coverage and holds a registered VASP license. Through this integration, clients will be able to mint JitoSOL directly from their SOL holdings via the KODA interface. JitoSOL, a liquid staking token on the Solana network, currently holds a market capitalization of approximately $930 million. The protocol allows users to stake SOL while maintaining liquidity through a token usable across various decentralized finance applications. This institutional push occurs amid a tightening regulatory environment in South Korea. Recent policy shifts include stricter requirements for virtual asset service providers and a proposal to cap ownership stakes in domestic exchanges at 20%. These measures follow a significant payout error at the Bithumb exchange in February, which prompted the FSC to introduce stricter reconciliation requirements between internal ledgers and on-chain balances.