Coinbase Users Can Now Join Eth2 Staking Rewards Waitlist

Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange has announced that clients interested in staking their ether (ETH) tokens to earn an annual percentage yield (APY) of 7.5 percent when Ethereum 2.0 finally goes live, can now make their intent known by joining its waitlist, according to a blog post on February 16, 2021.

Coinbase Opens its Door for Eth2 Staking 

Vitalik Buterin and members of the Ethereum Foundation have been working round the clock to make the Eth2 upgrade a huge success, and that hard work seems to be gradually paying off, as more than $5 billion worth of ether (ETH) has been staked on the Beacon Chain by top crypto exchanges and whales who have the required 32 ETH to play with.

Now, in anticipation of the official transitioning of Ethereum from proof of work (PoW) to the proof of stake (PoS) consensus algorithm, Coinbase, a leading U.S.-based crypto exchange, has announced that customers interested in staking their Ether on its platform can now join a waitlist pending when staking commences.

Coinbase wrote:

“Starting today, the waitlist to earn staking rewards with ETH2 is live. With the new Ethereum upgrade to ETH2, Coinbase customers will be able to earn rewards using the second most popular cryptocurrency after bitcoin. Staking allows customers to earn a yield of up to 7.5 percent for simply holding ETH2.”   

Lowering the Barrier to Entry

While the mantra of “not your keys, not your coins,” remains the best legacy to follow in the rapidly evolving cryptoverse, as there have been several rogue exchanges that have carted away with users’ funds in the past, the fact still remains that the services of highly reputed trading venues such as Coinbase, Binance and a few others, significantly lower the barrier to entry and accelerate mass crypto adoption.

Coinbase has made it clear that once the waiting period is over, customers will be able to stake any amount of ether they wish, as there are no minimums, and they will be able to decide whether to stake and earn rewards on their entire ETH balance or use just a portion of it.

What’s more, the exchange says customers will initially not be able to trade, sell or send the portion of ether they choose to stake, however, it plans to make trading of staked ETH possible in the near future.

“Initially, customers will not be able to sell or send the portion of Ethereum that they choose to stake. However, Coinbase will offer a way to trade any stake their Ethereum in the coming months. Customers in New York State are not currently eligible to sign-up for the waitlist,” it added.

Coinbase currently offers staking rewards to users who stake some established PoS coins on its platform, including Tezos (XTZ) and Cosmos (ATOM).

At press time, the price of ether (ETH) sits at $1,814, with a market capitalization of $208.08 billion as seen onCoinMarketCap.