Validation Cloud
Validation Cloud is a blockchain infrastructure company that sells three products to institutions: a Node API for reading and writing blockchain data, non-custodial staking and Mavrik, an AI platform for onchain data. The infrastructure firm Validation Capital launched Validation Cloud in July 2022, and the company today calls itself the foundational AI for digital finance.
Networks, asset managers, custodians and applications use the service to reach more than 50 blockchains without running their own servers for each one. The roots of the company go back to an oracle node: in 2019 Validation Capital joined the Chainlink network, which delivers prices and other external data to smart contracts. Chainlink was among the networks that Validation Cloud supported at its launch.
Chainlink oracle node since 2019
In September 2019 Validation Capital announced its oracle node on Chainlink, with its chief executive Michael Horowitz offering secure infrastructure for the link between blockchains and existing systems. Validation Capital then described itself as a provider of node infrastructure and investment capital for proof-of-stake networks. When Validation Capital launched Validation Cloud in July 2022, Chainlink stood on the list of supported networks next to Polygon, Solana, Casper and Ethereum.
A node operator in a Chainlink decentralized oracle network fetches a value such as an asset price from several sources off chain, signs its report and sends it on chain. The CCIP node operator list of Chainlink shows Validation Cloud with the tags CCIP and Data, and by default 16 independent, security-reviewed operators secure each CCIP lane between two chains. The most important Chainlink node operators range from early specialists such as LinkPool to infrastructure firms such as Blockdaemon and Validation Cloud.
Mavrik and Chainlink CCIP
In November 2025 Chainlink and Validation Cloud announced a collaboration that pairs Mavrik with the Chainlink Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol, CCIP. Mavrik reads onchain behavior and asset flows in real time, so an institution can follow liquidity and value movements across networks. CCIP moves data and tokens between blockchains, a mechanism known as cross-chain messaging.
Johann Eid, chief business officer of Chainlink Labs, and Alex Nwaka, chief executive of Validation Cloud, presented the work as a step for institutional DeFi with stablecoins and tokenized assets. The announcement named no specific blockchains and gave no technical details of the integration.
Node API for more than 50 networks
The Node API gives applications read and write access to blockchains such as Ethereum, Solana, Bitcoin, Base and Arbitrum through RPC endpoints, so a team does not have to operate a node for each network. Validation Cloud cites first place for API response speed in the CompareNodes ranking and an uptime of 99.99 percent, with infrastructure in several regions and automatic failover.
One published case is the Decentralized Infrastructure Network of Consensys, which MetaMask, the layer-2 network Linea and Infura use. A bank that compares node providers checks the same points as for any blockchain node infrastructure, such as where the data sits and how it would leave a critical ICT provider.
Non-custodial staking for institutions
Validation Cloud runs validators for proof-of-stake networks, while the client keeps control and ownership of the staked assets and can exit with a click or an API call. Institutions stake through a user interface, through the API or through custodians such as Fireblocks, and a white-label option offers the staking product under the brand of the client. The platform holds a SOC 2 Type II certification, and Staking Rewards lists Validation Cloud as a verified provider with an AAA rating.
In institutional staking this split of roles decides who is responsible for which risk. The validator operator runs the machines and earns a commission, while custody of the coins, and the license it requires, stays with the bank or its custodian.
Founders and investors
Alex Nwaka leads Validation Cloud as chief executive and cofounder, together with Michael Horowitz as president and cofounder and Andrew McFarlane as chief technology officer and cofounder. Alex Nwaka joined in 2022 as chief strategy officer after several years as an adviser, while Michael Horowitz was chief executive at the launch. Validation Cloud names True Global Ventures, Cadenza, Side Door Ventures and Bloccelerate among its investors.
Upcoming blockchain and digital asset events in Germany
What does Validation Cloud do?
Validation Cloud runs blockchain nodes and validators for institutions and sells access to them through a Node API and a staking service. Its AI platform Mavrik analyzes onchain asset flows for merchants, banks and market analysts.
Is Validation Cloud a Chainlink node operator?
Yes, Chainlink lists Validation Cloud among its CCIP node operators, with the services CCIP and Data. Validation Capital, the firm that launched Validation Cloud, had started its first Chainlink oracle node in September 2019.
Where is Validation Cloud based?
Validation Cloud announced its launch in July 2022 from Zug in Switzerland. The company works fully remote today, with a team spread across North America, Europe and Asia, and its Chainlink announcement of 2025 came from New York.
Validation Cloud and Finance Loop
Finance Loop covers oracle networks, staking and node infrastructure in the track Investment & Digital Assets. Validation Cloud adds a second subject with its CCIP collaboration, which aims at the settlement of stablecoins and tokenized assets across chains, a topic of the track Payments & Digital Money.
Finance Loop is a professional network and has the goal of driving the adoption of emerging technologies in finance, such as AI, tokenization, stablecoins, and DeFi. Finance Loop helps its members build skills and personal networks in these fields: Investment & Digital Assets, Payments & Digital Money, Digital Infrastructure & Sovereignty, and Risk & Compliance.