After pledging to offer support for ETH 2.0 staking last year, Coinbase exchange has launched a waitlist for the revamped Ethereum network. The exchange unveiled this news through a blog post on February 16, noting that this launch would let its users sign up and stake Ether (ETH) into the Beacon chain smart contract. Coinbase clients that seize this opportunity will be able to earn up to 7.5% APR for staked ETH.
Explaining the terms and conditions of staking, Coinbase said it would stake ETH on behalf of its clients. In so doing, the exchange would act as a validator, earning staking rewards in return. After deducting a 25% commission, the exchange would then distribute the staking rewards proportionally depending on the amount of ETH staked.
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According to the blog post, this development would include Coinbase customers in the first cohort of stakers that earn ETH 2.0 staking rewards. However, the waitlist is not open to residents of New York. Per Coinbase, this launch is a significant milestone in its journey to deliver on its promise to support ETH 2.0 staking. The exchange went on to note that it decided to support ETH 2.0 staking because of increasing demand from its clients.
Flexible staking options
Through this network upgrade, Ethereum will transition from a Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) one. Reportedly, this update requires ETH adopters to stake at least 32 ETH to become validators. However, seeing as Coinbase will be the validator in this deal, users can stake as little as £0.73.
However, after the waitlist, the exchange noted that it would not require any minimum amount to stake. Customers will then see their rewards adding in real-time in the app or on the website Coinbase.com.
At the initial stages of staking, Coinbase clients will not be able to sell or send their staked ETH. Nonetheless, the exchange seeks to change this restriction in the next few months to let its customers trade the staked ETH.
This news comes as more hodlers continue staking their ETH to earn rewards. At the moment, the ETH 2.0 staking contract holds more than 3.1 million ETH, which amounts to approximately £3.9 billion.
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