Marinade hires Fidelity Digital Asset Services founding president as chief commercial officer

The Solana staking marketplace Marinade has hired Hadley Stern, former president of Fidelity Digital Asset Services, as its chief commercial officer.

Stern will lead efforts to strengthen Marinade's staking solution and its position in the digital asset industry, according to a release shared with The Block.

Stern served as the founding president of Fidelity Digital Assets from 2016 to 2018. He also led Amazon Web Services' Innovation Lab for over a year starting in 2020 and served as global head of digital asset custody at BNY Mellon from 2021 to 2024.

"Stern’s deep understanding of digital asset management makes him the ideal candidate to facilitate public trust in Marinade and Solana," CEO Michael Repetny said in a statement. "Stern brings unique insights that align with our commitment to elevate the overall staking experience and further decentralize Solana. With Stern onboard we are confident Marinade will be the leading staking option for institutions with enhanced rewards, best decentralization, and best security model."

Marinade holds 7,453,450 SOL, valued at around $1.02 billion from over 147,500 stakers, according to its website. The protocol introduced its Stake Auction Marketplace ( SAM ), aiming to bolster yield, with bid distributions scheduled to occur by the fourth quarter of this year, The Block previously reported.

The token Marinade Staked SOL ( MSOL ) facilitates staking within the protocol's ecosystem.