Stride, a leading multichain liquid staking protocol, has announced a significant integration with Namada, a shielded asset hub that rewards users for protecting their data across multiple blockchain networks. This partnership aims to provide unparalleled data protection for users of Stride's liquid staked tokens (LSTs).

The integration allows holders of Stride's LSTs to utilize their tokens and benefit from the highest level of personal data protection. Using Namada's multi-asset shielded pool (MASP), these users can collect Namada shielding rewards (NAM tokens) for protecting their data and strengthening Namada's shielded set. This technology ensures superior data protection by enabling individuals to control the sharing of their personally identifiable information while interacting with transparent blockchains and seeding new accounts.

Major LSTs will be eligible for Namada shielding rewards, allowing users to collect both staking rewards and shielding rewards on the same assets while enjoying industry-leading data protection guarantees. Stride Contributor John Galt emphasized the synergistic nature of the partnership, stating that users will be able to earn staking rewards on their Cosmos tokens while using Namada's shielded pool and collecting NAM shielding rewards.

Dieter Fishbein, CCO of Heliax, one of the companies developing Namada, highlighted the significance of the integration, saying that it is a major step towards bringing data protection capabilities to DeFi, not just on Cosmos but across the broader crypto ecosystem. Namada's MASP, a Zero Knowledge circuit, provides similar functionality to zcash but can support any asset, enabling modular data protection capabilities for any existing blockchain network or decentralized application.

Stride's high-efficiency LSTs are particularly well-suited for Namada's shielded set, as users can leave their tokens shielded on Namada with the potential of NAM shielding rewards while simultaneously generating staking rewards. Although staking tokens are crucial for DeFi, the process of staking tokens to get rewards means they cannot be deployed in other DeFi protocols. LSTs overcome this obstacle, giving users the chance to get staking rewards while still deploying their tokens as collateral.

Stride is the leading liquid staking provider for Cosmos blockchains, such as Celestia, dYdX, Osmosis, and Cosmos Hub. Namada, on the other hand, is the shielded asset hub rewarding users to protect the multichain. It uses advanced ZK cryptography to deliver unparalleled data protection to existing assets, applications, and blockchain networks, introducing shielded cross-chain interactions and passive rewards for holding assets in and strengthening its shielded set.