{"id":"david-kinitsky","title":"David Kinitsky","content":"**David Kinitsky** is an executive in the [digital asset](https://iq.wiki/wiki/digital-assets) and financial services industries and currently serves as Chief Corporate Development Officer at Everstake. He has held senior leadership roles spanning corporate strategy, business development, operations, and executive management at companies involved in [cryptocurrency](https://iq.wiki/wiki/cryptocurrency) infrastructure, [digital asset](https://iq.wiki/wiki/digital-assets) investment, and financial technology. [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-xlBtMmNXapEctYW0) \n\n## Education\n\nKinitsky graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2002. He then attended Cardozo School of Law, where he earned his JD in Intellectual Property in 2007. [\\[2\\]](#cite-id-trSlvA7OXxy89vNk) \n\n## Career\n\nKinitsky began his career in business and legal affairs at Palm Pictures/Sanctuary Records, where he worked from 2002 to 2005 before joining the law firm Beigelman, Feiner & Feldman as an associate from 2006 to 2008. In 2009, he joined SecondMarket, holding roles as senior associate, director, and senior director through 2014, during which he contributed to the company's private markets business, including the expansion of its digital asset initiatives. In 2013, Kinitsky became general manager at Grayscale Investments, overseeing the firm's operations during its early years as a digital asset investment manager. He later joined Fidelity Investments, serving as director of research and innovation from 2015 to 2016 before being promoted to vice president of innovation, a position he held until 2018. During this period, he also served as a scientific advisor to the UCL Centre for Blockchain Technologies from 2016 to 2018.\n\nKinitsky joined [Circle](https://iq.wiki/wiki/circle) in 2018 as vice president of corporate development and strategy and was promoted to vice president of business development in 2019. In 2020, he moved to [Kraken](https://iq.wiki/wiki/kraken), where he served as chief executive officer of [Kraken](https://iq.wiki/wiki/kraken) Financial before becoming managing director for the United States in 2022, overseeing the company's U.S. business until 2023. In 2023, Kinitsky joined Dominant Strategies as chief operating officer and served until 2025. He was appointed interim chief executive officer of Everstake in 2025 before assuming the role of chief corporate development officer in 2026, where he oversees the company's corporate development initiatives. [\\[3\\]](#cite-id-AxEG5oSzoV8BlQbd) \n\n## Interviews\n\n### Everstake\n\nIn an August 2025 episode of the Brave New Coin podcast, Kinitsky discussed Everstake’s role as a non-custodial [staking](https://iq.wiki/wiki/staking) provider and his broader experience across the [digital asset](https://iq.wiki/wiki/digital-assets) industry, including prior roles at [Grayscale](https://iq.wiki/wiki/grayscale), Fidelity, [Circle](https://iq.wiki/wiki/circle), and [Kraken](https://iq.wiki/wiki/kraken). He explained that Everstake, founded in 2017–2018 in Ukraine, had remained profitable and largely self-funded through significant challenges, including geopolitical disruption, before transitioning into a more structured growth phase with expanded professional operations. Kinitsky outlined the company’s multi-chain [staking](https://iq.wiki/wiki/staking) infrastructure, which spans more than 85 [blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain) networks and includes validation services, open-source tooling, and white-label solutions for retail platforms, fintech firms, [centralized exchanges](https://iq.wiki/wiki/cex-centralized-exchange), and institutional clients. The discussion also addressed the evolving regulatory environment, including recent U.S. guidance suggesting that staking activity may not constitute a securities offering, which he noted could help accelerate institutional participation. He further highlighted operational and compliance complexities associated with running global [staking](https://iq.wiki/wiki/staking) infrastructure, as well as growing interest from institutional allocators such as endowments and pension funds. Overall, Kinitsky expressed optimism about the maturation of [staking](https://iq.wiki/wiki/staking) as a financial primitive and its potential integration into mainstream financial products and services. [\\[6\\]](#cite-id-c3lKPctxG47q4jg3) \n\n[YOUTUBE@VID](https://youtube.com/watch?v=qv39wVUaWrs)\n\n## Panels\n\n### Institutional Staking\n\nAt the Digital Asset Yield Summit in May 2026, Kinitsky joined Sam Gaer (Monarq) and Duncan Moir (21Shares) for a panel titled “The Institutional Staking Playbook: When ETFs Win, When Direct Wins, When to Blend,” which examined how institutional investors are navigating [staking](https://iq.wiki/wiki/staking) and yield strategies in [digital assets](https://iq.wiki/wiki/digital-assets). The discussion focused on the trade-offs between ETF-based exposure and direct [staking](https://iq.wiki/wiki/staking), with ETFs described as offering regulated access, custody solutions, and liquidity benefits that appeal to smaller or more risk-averse investors, even if they may come with reduced yield potential. In contrast, direct [staking](https://iq.wiki/wiki/staking) was characterized as better suited to larger institutions with the operational capacity to manage custody, compliance, and governance requirements, particularly as the space's infrastructure continues to mature. The panel also explored hybrid approaches that combine ETF exposure with direct [staking](https://iq.wiki/wiki/staking) to balance flexibility and risk-adjusted returns. Despite acknowledging recent challenges in [DeFi](https://iq.wiki/wiki/defi), including security incidents and reputational risks, the speakers expressed confidence that improved infrastructure, oversight, and institutional participation would drive broader adoption, with allocation decisions ultimately depending on each institution’s scale, resources, and strategic objectives. [\\[7\\]](#cite-id-mawHiSbZTE6MnZDZ) \n\n[YOUTUBE@VID](https://youtube.com/watch?v=5USz_Z1vR4o)","summary":"David Kinitsky is a seasoned finance executive and Chief Corporate Development Officer at Everstake, with a career spanning digital asset management, fintech and crypto infrastructure and pivotal roles at Grayscale, Fidelity, Circle and Kraken.","images":[{"id":"QmevHoZmWeiaExk3vGzKuNvUPJNKrYzMj4V9jgGQZwrNmK","type":"image/jpeg, 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