Germany’s Deutsche Telekom plugs in as Polygon validator

June 1, 2023 Coin Telegraph

The German telecommunications firm looks to leverage its infrastructure in Web3, plugging in as a network validator for Ethereum scaling protocol Polygon.

One of Europe’s largest telecommunications companies is using its infrastructure to explore new revenue streams and boost network security as a validator for blockchain protocols.

Germany’s Deutsche Telekom is set to become a validator for Ethereum layer-2 scaling platform Polygon, becoming one of 100 validators providing staking and validation services for the network and Polygon’s Supernets solution.

Polygon is an important layer 2 in the Ethereum ecosystem, offering developers a range of scaling solutions, including zero-knowledge rollups, sidechains and data availability protocols.

Deutsche Telekom MMS, which provides consulting and software development services, will operate as a Polygon validator for its parent company. This is expected to secure Polygon’s proof-of-stake sidechain and Supernets chain, improving security, governance and decentralization of the protocols.

The firm will run a full node, produce blocks, validate and participate in the network’s consensus, and commit checkpoints to the Ethereum mainnet.

Dirk Röde, Deutsche Telekom’s Blockchain Solutions Center head, told Cointelegraph supporting the Polygon network as a validator is a big milestone in its aim to be an important player in Web3 infrastructure:

“Deutsche Telekom is not only a renowned infrastructure provider for mobile and internet services but is also making significant commitments to expand its presence and reliability as an infrastructure provider in the Web3 domain.”

Deutsche Telekom is also a validator for Q, Flow, Celo, Chainlink and Ethereum, and Röde said the company aims to serve institutional clients as a reliable enterprise-grade staking provider.

Röde added that leveraging the company’s infrastructure as a validator while monetizing the native token of the underlying blockchain network provides Deutsche Telekom with a “dependable, novel and scalable source of income.“

The potential for more mainstream telecommunications companies moving into Web3 could also catalyze greater decentralization of various proof-of-stake blockchains operated by validators:

“Other telecommunications companies are also exploring opportunities in this domain. In a decentralized ecosystem, it should be the goal to have a diverse and reliable validator set.“

A statement from Polygon Labs CEO Michael Blank reiterated this point, highlighting his belief that the partnership could pave the way for more mainstream businesses to embrace blockchain technology.

Polygon recently announced a multiyear partnership with Google Cloud to drive the development of the Ethereum scaling protocol’s zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine, zero-knowledge proof scaling solution.

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Deutsche Telekom to store Celo tokens on Coinbase Custody

August 9, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Celo

Europe’s largest telecoms company by revenue has tapped Coinbase Custody for its Celo tokens.

Coinbase Custody, the crypto custodial solution offered by United States exchange giant Coinbase, has been chosen by Deutsche Telekom to store its Celo tokens.

According to a release issued on Monday, the telecoms giant identified the robust security protocols offered by Coinbase Custody as a major reason for choosing the service.

Deutsche Telekom invested in Celo back in April, becoming the first telecom member of the Celo Alliance for Prosperity. Apart from making a “significant purchase” of Celo tokens, Deutsche Telekom’s T-Systems MMS subsidiary also became a validator on the mobile decentralized finance Celo network.

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, United States-based venture capital behemoth Andreessen Horowitz, aka a16z, delegated its Celo assets to T-Systems MMS. At the time, Katie Haun, general partner at a16z, stated that both companies had similar visions about the ability of the Celo project to disrupt the global payment sector.

Deutsche Telekom’s selection of Coinbase Custody comes after the latter secured approval from Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority back in June. Indeed, Coinbase became the first crypto exchange to be granted such a license in the country following the news.

Custody has always been a focal point of the discussion surrounding broad-based institutional adoption of crypto. Legal requirements in many jurisdictions often mandate regulated entities to store assets with recognized custodians.

Banks and other financial institutions are increasingly making their first forays into the crypto space by leveraging their standing with regulators to offer cryptocurrency. This trend is in addition to the custodial services offered by regulated exchanges such as Coinbase and Gemini.

Fintechs and tech companies, in general, are also making forays into the crypto custody space. Back in June, Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey revealed that the latter was developing a Bitcoin (BTC) hardware wallet.

Indeed, given the maturing crypto custody space, attention has begun to shift to onboarding major institutional players such as retirement funds and sovereign wealth management funds.

A16z taps Deutsche Telekom subsidiary as Celo validator

June 22, 2021 Coin Telegraph

A16Z

Deutsche Telekom’s T-Systems MMS is now a public validator on Celo via its Open Telekom Cloud infrastructure.

The United States-based venture capital fund Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has picked T-Systems MMS validator group, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, to delegate its native Celo (CELO) assets.

According to a notice on Deutsche Telekom's website on Tuesday, T-Systems MMS is running the validator nodes via the company's Open Telekom Cloud which reportedly delivers robust security capabilities.

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, Deutsche Telekom invested in Celo back in April, becoming the first telecom firm to join the Celo Alliance for Prosperity. At the time, the company also purchased a significant amount of the mobile decentralized finance platform's native token — CELO.

T-Systems MMS is staking its parent company's CELO tokens as well as other Celo-based assets held by a16z.

A16z has been a supporter of Celo and has regularly participated in capital raises for the open-source blockchain payments project. Back in April 2019, a16z joined Polychain Capital and other investors in a $30 million funding round for Celo.

Commenting on its choice to delegate its Celo assets to Deutsche Telekom subsidiary, a16z general partner Katie Huan said:

“Electing a diverse set of globally distributed validators is critical to maintaining a blockchain network that is secure and technically robust. We partnered with Deutsche Telekom because their incentives align with Celo's vision of building a global payment platform that can be used by anyone with just a mobile phone.”

Apart from Celo, T-Systems MMS is a node operator on Chainlink (LINK) with the company also providing support infrastructure for Flow, another blockchain project. Andreas Dittrich, the company's blockchain head, describes public blockchains as “the future of value-based collaboration.”

CELO, like the rest of the crypto market, is currently experiencing a significant downturn since setting a new all-time high of almost $7 back in April. As with other altcoins, CELO’s price decline has seen the token lose close to 74% from its April high.

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Deutsche Telekom

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