Diva

What Diva does

Diva (Diva Staking) is a community-driven, DAO-governed Ethereum liquid staking protocol built on Distributed Validator Technology (DVT). It enables multiple node operators to validate Ethereum blocks cooperatively, with each validator backed by 5 nodes such that signing keys never come together in a single location. The protocol serves two primary customer segments: ETH and stETH holders who stake assets to receive divETH (a liquid staking token redeemable across DeFi), and permissionless node operators who run Diva Operator clients and earn operator rewards. Revenue is generated through staking protocol fees, though the specific fee schedule is not publicly disclosed.

The core technology stack centers on DVT and threshold cryptography, with explicit positioning against the >40% concentration of Ethereum staking power held by Lido (28.9%) and Coinbase (13.2%). The protocol has accumulated 489 testnet nodes and 3,380 key shares on the Holešky testnet, and the Early Staker Vaults on Enzyme Finance have attracted $55M in pre-launch TVL. Governance is exercised by DIVA token holders voting through Tally, and the organization maintains ties to Nektar Network as a related operational entity, with contact email and operator community routed through that domain.

The go-to-market approach is community-led and product-led growth combined: Discord, Twitter, and a newsletter serve top-of-funnel engagement for both stakers and operators, while self-serve access via the Diva website, testnet application (Holešky), and Enzyme-hosted Early Staker Vaults drives bottom-of-funnel conversion. The protocol has secured $3.5M in seed funding (January 2023) led by A&T Capital with participation from OKX Ventures, Gnosis, Bankless, DCV Capital, Staked.vc, and others. Headcount is 11-50 employees and operations are headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, though the protocol itself is permissionless and globally accessible.

Name

Diva

Legal name

Diva (legal name not disclosed on website)

Website

https://divalabs.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Diva is a community-driven, DAO-governed Ethereum liquid staking protocol using Distributed Validator Technology (DVT). It serves ETH/stETH holders and permissionless node operators by offering a decentralized, censorship-resistant alternative to Lido and Coinbase and issuing the divETH liquid staking token.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Liquid Staking Protocol

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320), Securities and Commodity Exchanges (523210)

SIC

Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200), Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Liquid Staking & Restaking Protocols (FSADAMAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Liquid Staking Protocols & Liquid Staking Tokens (LST) (FSADAOAL), Staking Validators (PoS) & Delegation Services (FSADAKAC), Staking, Restaking & Liquid Staking Finance (LST/LRT, validator markets) (FSAPAEAH), Staking Pools & Delegation Platforms (FSADAOAJ)

Keywords

• Liquid staking protocol
• Distributed validator technology
• Ethereum staking
• Liquid staking tokens
• DeFi composability

Headquarters

HQ city

Zug

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Staking Protocol Fees: Diva generates revenue through fees associated with Ethereum staking operations on its liquid staking protocol. Specific fee structure is not publicly disclosed.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Diva is an Ethereum Liquid Staking protocol powered by Distributed Validator Technology (DVT) that enables ETH and stETH holders to stake ETH and receive divETH, a liquid staking token that earns Ethereum staking rewards while remaining composable across DeFi. Validation is distributed across 5 nodes per validator operated by permissionless node operators, with native operator bonds and DAO governance over protocol parameters.

Product overview

Diva Staking is a unified Liquid Staking protocol built on Ethereum that combines Distributed Validator Technology (DVT) with liquid staking capabilities. The core offering centers on the Diva Staking protocol where users stake ETH to receive divETH tokens. The product portfolio includes the Early Staker Vaults (for pre-launch token eligibility), the Staking Testnet (Holešky-based testing environment), Diva Operator software (for node runners), and DivaScan (for network monitoring). These products work together to create a complete staking ecosystem: users stake via the protocol and receive divETH, node operators run Diva Operator clients to maintain network security, and the Early Staker Vaults facilitate pre-launch participation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• divETH: The liquid staking token (LST) issued by Diva Staking that earns Ethereum staking rewards and provides DeFi composability.

Products and services

• Diva Staking An Ethereum Liquid Staking protocol powered by Distributed Validator Technology (DVT) that lets users stake ETH and receive divETH, a liquid staking token that earns Ethereum staking rewards while remaining usable across DeFi protocols.
• divETH The liquid staking token issued by Diva Staking to ETH stakers; designed for DeFi composability and enabling users to unlock staking yield inside decentralized finance applications.
• Early Staker Vaults Deposit vaults on Enzyme Finance that allow ETH or stETH holders to become eligible for DIVA token allocation, managed through Enzyme protocol and governed by DAO voting.
• Diva Staking Testnet Pre-launch testing environment on the Holesky testnet where users can stake, unstake, and wrap ETH to test the Diva protocol before mainnet deployment.
• Diva Operator Node operator software enabling permissionless participation in the Diva network, featuring 5 nodes per validator for redundancy, fault tolerance, and economically trustless operation with native operator bonds.
• DivaScan Block explorer and monitoring interface for viewing Diva network nodes and validators, including testnet node statistics and key share information.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5 nodes per validator ensuring significantly better uptime
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• EnzymecoreTechnology or IntegrationEnzyme finance hosts the Diva Early Staker Vaults program, which allows ETH and stETH holders to deposit and become eligible for DIVA tokens. The program is governed by DAO voting and represents a core integration for pre-mainnet participation.
• Shamir LabscoreTechnology or IntegrationShamir Labs provides the testnet infrastructure and operator documentation for Diva, hosting the staking testnet application at diva.shamirlabs.org and operator docs at docs.shamirlabs.org.
• Nektar NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDiva is related to Nektar Network, with contact information pointing to nektar.network. Discord community for operators hosted through nektarnetwork.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Lido Finance: Lido is the dominant Ethereum liquid staking protocol with stETH commanding ~29% of all ETH staking. It is the direct competitor Diva is positioning against, sharing the same liquid staking primitive and DeFi composability use case, but Lido uses a curated validator set rather than DVT.
• Rocket Pool: Rocket Pool is a decentralized Ethereum liquid staking protocol issuing rETH, designed for permissionless node operator participation. Like Diva, it emphasizes decentralization and censorship resistance, though it predates DVT integration and uses a different architecture.

Emerging players

• Frax Finance: Frax operates sfrxETH, a liquid staking token built around the Frax stablecoin ecosystem. It offers ETH holders staking yield with DeFi composability within the Frax ecosystem, partially overlapping with Diva's divETH value proposition.
• Ether.fi: Ether.fi is an emerging liquid restaking protocol that combines liquid staking with EigenLayer restaking. It competes for the same ETH staker capital pool as Diva and is one of the top-five ETH staking entities cited in Diva's competitive framing.
• SSV Network: SSV Network provides the underlying Distributed Validator Technology (DVT) infrastructure that Diva uses. It is both a potential infrastructure dependency and a partial competitor, as other liquid staking protocols (including Lido) integrate SSV for DVT-based validation.
• Obol Network: Obol is another DVT infrastructure provider for Ethereum staking, offering distributed validator middleware to other protocols. It competes with SSV as a DVT layer and represents both a potential partner and a competitive vector to Diva's DVT-native architecture.

Regional players

• Stride: Stride is a liquid staking protocol native to the Cosmos ecosystem. It shares the core liquid staking model with Diva but operates across Cosmos chains rather than Ethereum, making it a comparable design and governance reference point.
• Marinade Finance: Marinade is a leading liquid staking protocol on Solana, offering a comparable liquid staking primitive to Diva but on a different chain. Useful as a comparable design and growth benchmark for non-Ethereum LST protocols.

Broad incumbents

• Coinbase (cbETH): Coinbase issues cbETH, a centralized liquid staking token backed by Coinbase's institutional-grade custody. It controls ~13% of ETH staking and is explicitly named by Diva as a concentration-risk target, though as a centralized exchange it is structurally the opposite of Diva's permissionless design.
• Ankr: Ankr provides liquid staking and node infrastructure services across multiple chains, including ankrETH on Ethereum. It is a broader, more established infrastructure player with overlapping liquid staking offerings, though without Diva's DVT-native positioning.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/divalabs
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/divalabs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors9 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Diva