Luganodes x Drop: Advancing Decentralized Liquid Staking for the Interchain

Introduction

We’re excited to announce our latest partnership with Drop, the Interchain-native liquid staking protocol and inaugural member of the Lido Alliance. As Drop expands support for dAssets like deINIT, dATOM, and dTIA, Luganodes joins as a core validator—bringing institutional-grade infrastructure to power the next phase of Interchain staking.

This collaboration is not just a validation slot — it’s a convergence of shared goals: decentralization, resilience, and unlocking capital efficiency across Cosmos-based networks.

What is Drop?

Drop is a liquid staking protocol designed for Cosmos and Interchain assets, purpose-built to improve stake distribution and capital efficiency. Founded by former Lido and P2P contributors, Drop enables users to stake assets like ATOM, INIT and TIA while retaining liquidity through its dAssets (e.g., dATOM, deINIT, dTIA).

Using Cosmos-native tools like IBC, Interchain Queries (ICQ), and Interchain Transactions (ICTX), Drop enables seamless, secure staking across chains. Users retain liquidity, earn staking rewards, access DeFi, and remain airdrop-eligible—all from a single position.

Liquid Staking with Purpose

At its core, Drop exists to correct a long-standing issue in PoS chains: stake centralization. Through tools like weighted delegation, on-chain validator set management, and delegation frameworks informed by off-chain research, Drop actively increases the halt thresholds of networks it supports.

Beyond decentralization, Drop offers:

• Auto-compounding staking rewards

• Fully liquid staking positions via dAssets

• Airdrop eligibility and DeFi integrations

• Composable infrastructure with audited smart contracts

With growing adoption across Cosmos chains — including Neutron, Celestia, Initia, and beyond — Drop is quickly becoming the default route for liquid staking that doesn’t compromise on decentralization or validator diversity.

Luganodes x Drop: Validator Power Meets Liquid Staking Infrastructure

As Drop expands its validator set across supported chains, Luganodes is joining the active validator roster to help secure the protocol and its underlying networks.

Luganodes is already live as a genesis validator on Initia, and now extends the proven infrastructure to Drop’s architecture — running secure, high-performance nodes that align with Drop’s decentralization and uptime goals. With 50+ networks under active management, and deep operational experience with Cosmos SDK-based chains, Luganodes brings full-stack validation, 24/7 SRE coverage, and crypto-native hosting to Drop’s validator set.

By supporting Drop, we’re also contributing to the wider decentralization of staking across the Interchain, ensuring that institutional-grade infrastructure backs the dAssets powering the next generation of Interchain DeFi.

Conclusion

Liquid staking is evolving — and Drop is leading that evolution in the Cosmos ecosystem. With its unique focus on decentralization and stake distribution, Drop bridges the gap between liquidity and network security.

Luganodes is proud to support this mission, offering robust validator infrastructure across Drop’s supported chains — from Initia to Neutron and beyond. Together, we’re building an Interchain staking layer that’s not only liquid, but decentralized by design.

Stay tuned for more updates as we help expand Drop’s reach and staking impact across the Interchain.

About Luganodes

Luganodes is a world-class, Swiss-operated, non-custodial blockchain infrastructure provider that has rapidly gained recognition in the industry for offering institutional-grade services. It was born out of the Lugano Plan B Program, an initiative driven by Tether and the City of Lugano. Luganodes maintains an exceptional 99.9% uptime with round-the-clock monitoring by SRE experts. With support for 45+ PoS networks, it ranks among the top validators on Polygon, Polkadot, Sui, and Tron. Luganodes prioritizes security and compliance, holding the distinction of being one of the first staking providers to adhere to all SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, and ISO 27001 standards as well as offering Chainproof insurance to institutional clients.

The information herein is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, business, tax, professional, financial, or investment advice. No warranties are made regarding its accuracy, correctness, completeness, or reliability. Luganodes and its affiliates disclaim all liability for any losses or damages arising from reliance on this information. Luganodes is not obligated to update or amend any content. Use of this at your own risk. For any advice, please consult a qualified professional.