Bitstamp Ends Staking Services for US Customers Amid Legal Developments
Summary:
Bitstamp, a popular crypto exchange, is discontinuing staking services for US customers, including Ether (ETH). The decision follows recent legal developments and the suspension of trading for several altcoins.
Bitstamp, a popular cryptocurrency exchange, is discontinuing its staking services for customers in the United States, specifically for Ether (ETH). Starting from September 25th, customers will no longer be able to stake ETH and will continue earning rewards until September 25th, 2023. After that, all staked assets will be unstaked and the rewards, along with the principal, will be transferred to users' Bitstamp account balances. It may take a few days for users' balances to reflect these changes, cautioned Bobby Zagotta, the U.S. CEO and global chief commercial officer at Bitstamp. Additionally, Bitstamp charges a 15% commission on all staking rewards. The monthly reward rate for staking ETH on the exchange is 4.50%, while staking Algorand (ALGO) offers a lower monthly reward of 1.60%.
This decision by Bitstamp to discontinue staking services in the United States follows the trend of other countries like Canada, Japan, Singapore, and the United Kingdom where Bitstamp's staking services are also not available. The catalyst behind this move seems to be recent legal developments in the United States. In early August, Bitstamp announced the suspension of trading for seven altcoins, including Axie Infinity (AXS), Chiliz (CHZ), Decentraland (MANA), Polygon (MATIC), Near NEAR, Sandbox (SAND), and Solana (SOL). These tokens were classified as unregistered securities by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in June, which led to lawsuits against major crypto exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase.
It is worth mentioning that Ether is the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain and is currently the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, next to Bitcoin (BTC). The regulatory environment surrounding cryptocurrencies in the United States has been a complex issue, particularly concerning whether Ether should be classified as a commodity or a security. While the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has consistently referred to Ether as a commodity, SEC Chair Gary Gensler has expressed his view that everything other than Bitcoin should be considered a security. This ongoing debate contributes to the overall uncertainty surrounding crypto regulation in the country.
Published At
8/23/2023 5:31:58 PM
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