Case Study: Protocol Labs achieves compliant global token and equity grant administration with Toku

Protocol Labs partners with Toku to streamline its token grant and equity grant administration under one solution

Protocol Labs, a global blockchain infrastructure company with a distributed workforce, faced significant operational and compliance challenges managing complex international token and equity grants for its employees. Their main hurdle was navigating Italy's intricate tax laws for crypto-based compensation, including calculating withholding obligations and executing sell-to-cover processes. Traditional payroll providers lacked the necessary crypto-native expertise, prompting Protocol Labs to partner with vendor Toku for its specialized token and equity grant administration service.

Toku implemented a solution combining its crypto payroll infrastructure with local Italian tax expertise. This included centralizing grant administration, automating tax withholding and sell-to-cover execution, and providing clear documentation for employees. The results for Protocol Labs were full compliance with Italian law, substantial time and resource savings for their finance and legal teams, and an improved contributor experience. Toku provided a scalable framework that transformed a manual administrative headache into a compliant and strategic capability for global growth.

Protocol Labs

Phil Karl

Controller