What is Bison Trails? A blockchain infrastructure provider now part of Coinbase Cloud

Bison Trails was a blockchain infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) provider that allowed businesses, developers, and institutions to run secure and scalable blockchain nodes without managing their own hardware. In 2021, it was acquired by Coinbase and integrated into Coinbase Cloud, becoming part of the exchange's broader suite of blockchain services.

Essentially, Bison Trails helped validators, stakers, and enterprises participate in blockchain networks without needing deep technical expertise.

How Bison Trails worked

  • Node deployment: Users could run validator or full nodes on multiple blockchains without managing hardware or security.
  • Staking as a service: Institutions and developers could stake assets like ETH, DOT, and SOL to earn rewards.
  • Multi-blockchain support: Supported PoS (Proof of Stake) networks, enabling decentralized participation.
  • Secure & scalable: Offered cloud-based infrastructure to prevent downtime and security risks.

Why Bison Trails was important

  • Simplified blockchain participation – Allowed enterprises to engage with networks like Ethereum, Solana, and Polkadot without technical overhead.
  • Strengthened decentralization – Made it easier for more participants to run nodes, improving blockchain security.
  • Coinbase Cloud integration – Post-acquisition, its technology powers Coinbase's staking and node services.

Blockchains supported by Bison Trails

Bison Trails supported major Proof of Stake (PoS) networks, including:

  • Ethereum (ETH 2.0) – Staking and validator services.
  • Polkadot (DOT) – Validator infrastructure for parachains.
  • Solana (SOL) – High-performance node deployment.
  • Tezos (XTZ) – Secure delegation services.
  • Celo, Cosmos, Avalanche, Near, and others.

After joining Coinbase Cloud, these services expanded further.

FAQs

Is Bison Trails still active?

No, it was fully integrated into Coinbase Cloud after its acquisition in 2021.

Who used Bison Trails?

Mostly institutions, developers, and enterprises that needed reliable node infrastructure for staking and blockchain participation.

What does Coinbase Cloud do now?

It continues Bison Trails' work by offering staking, validator services, and blockchain infrastructure for institutions.

Other Glossary Terms

DeFi

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Crypto Address

A crypto address is a unique identifier used for sending and receiving cryptocurrency on blockchain networks. Linked to a wallet

Public Blockchain

A public blockchain is an open, decentralized network where anyone can participate, validate transactions, and view the ledger. Learn how it works, its benefits, and the challenges it faces in scalability and security.

Circulating Supply

Circulating supply is the number of crypto tokens actively available in the market. It impacts price, market cap, and scarcity, making it a key metric for investors. Bitcoin has ~19.5M BTC circulating, while Ethereum's supply fluctuates.

Block in a blockchain

A block in a blockchain is a digital record that contains a batch of verified transactions, along with metadata such as a timestamp, cryptographic hash, and a reference to the previous block.