Melia, the French crypto trading and staking platform, today announced that it has joined the ranks of Tezos validators by operating Baker on its network. The company says the move will strengthen Tezos' security and expand the platform's staking capabilities. With this decision, Melia will assume the technical role of validating and signing blocks at the core of Tezos' Liquid Proof of Stake model, while incorporating that functionality into the services it already provides to retail and institutional customers.
Melia, registered as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) in France, positions this step as a natural extension of its existing product set. Users can already buy and sell cryptocurrencies on the platform, and Melia operates a staking and lending program that allows customers to earn yield on the assets they hold with the company. Melia says running its own bakery will make it more economical and transparent. $XTZ Use staking services to provide more direct support to the networks they serve.
“Tezos is one of the pioneering Proof-of-Stake protocols in the industry,” said Thibaut Boutrou, COO of Meria, in a company statement. “By running a bakery, Melia is proud to actively contribute to the functioning of a network that shares a strong history and deep Francophone roots.” The announcement positions the bakery program as a long-term initiative rather than a short-term product strategy.
Enhanced security and $XTZ Staking options
The timing comes as Tezos itself is seeing new momentum. Recent protocol work and ecosystem upgrades have garnered attention from builders and institutional stakeholders alike, and the network's onboarding of new validators and partners has been highlighted in recent press coverage. Institutional investor interest has been highlighted by notable staking activity in January, including a multi-million dollar fundraising. $XTZ Industry insiders claim that the acquisition by TenX Protocols was aimed at supporting validator participation in operations and governance.
Industry voices welcomed Melia's participation. Anthony Heyot, Head of DeFi Implementation at Nomadic Labs, said Melia's decision to become a baker “further deepens the integration of our client-facing platform with the Tezos ecosystem. Having a trusted provider run the nodes themselves will make cryptocurrencies easier and safer for everyday users, and having a reputable custodian provide validation will reduce friction and make mainstream adoption more possible.”
For Melia, this technological move also strengthens its position in the highly competitive European market. The Metz-based platform, founded in 2017, says it manages over €300 million in assets and serves more than 150,000 customers across Europe, a figure highlighted to underline the scale at which it plans to run its validator operations and staking program. By integrating Baking into its infrastructure, Meria will have a direct say in the governance of Tezos and should be able to offer more competitive and transparent terms to the users it delegates to. $XTZ Through the platform.
From Tezos’ perspective, the addition of regulated French VASPs to the bakery roster is a victory for decentralization. More geographically and institutionally diverse validators generally improve network resilience. Tezos' baker model requires nodes and associated tools to coordinate block generation and confirmation, with each new trusted baker expanding the pool of participants securing the chain and participating in on-chain governance.
Melia’s announcement shows that established crypto platforms are doing more than just storing assets. They have started plumbing these networks. For those already staking through an exchange or custodian, that could mean small changes to how rewards are shared, and perhaps more importantly, clearer visibility into how validators are actually operating. And for Tezos, this is a sign that the respected European player is willing to put resources behind a chain built around upgradability, strong on-chain governance, and energy-efficient consensus.
The company's statement and background information are available on Melia's website. There, the company outlines its validator services alongside its retail and institutional services. Tezos' official channels also welcomed the arrival of Meria as a validator, noting its contribution to the decentralization of the network.
Melia's move to run a bakery will be one to watch as Tezos continues to roll out technological enhancements and attract new institutional investors. This will tie a regulated, customer-facing European platform directly into the chain's day-to-day operations, giving both users and protocols a clear line between service delivery and network security.
