Binance US launches low-barrier Ethereum staking ahead of The Merge

Published at: Sept. 7, 2022

On Wednesday, the U.S. subsidiary of cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced that it would introduce an Ethereum (ETH) staking program with annual percentage yields of up to 6.0%. Unlike direct staking on the Ethereum network, which would require 32 ETH, only 0.001 ETH would be required under the new service introduced by Binance US. Regarding the development, Brian Shroder, CEO of Binance US, said: 

"ETH plays a critical role in the broader Web3 ecosystem. As the Ethereum network continues to transition towards The Merge, we are thrilled to offer ETH staking with some of the highest APY rewards in the industry."

The staking yields are in part boosted by features such as Binance US' automatic restake, which enables the compounding of returns. However, users cannot unstake ETH at the moment, and rewards will not be distributed until Ethereum first transitions from a proof-of-work blockchain to proof-of-stake through the upcoming Merge upgrade scheduled for Sept. 15. Then, through a future "Shanghai Upgrade" contingent on successful Merge completion, users will then be able to withdraw their staked ETH.

Due to the complicated nature of the upgrade, there is no guarantee that the transition will be smooth. Users' funds are, therefore, subject to risks such as prolonged return of funds or loss of principal if the upgrade fails. Binance US says it has no control over the manner and ultimate amount of staked ETH investors can receive back. At the time of publication, 21.6% of Ethereum nodes remain unsynced to The Merge upgrade. 

Tags
Related Posts
PancakeSwap (CAKE) aims to take a slice out of Uniswap’s DeFi dominance
Decentralized finance has taken a back seat to nonfungible tokens over the past month but this hasn’t stopped the top DeFi projects from developing and strategizing how to grow their ecosystems and market share. One project that has outperformed the field as of late is PancakeSwap (CAKE), the Binance Smart Chain-based automated market maker (AMM) that allows users to exchange tokens and earn a portion of fees through yield farming. According to a recent report from Delphi Digital, several factors have played a significant role in helping the PancakeSwap ecosystem grow in recent months and analysts predict that the protocol …
Blockchain / March 28, 2021
Binance to Transfer BUSD Across Blockchains on Syscoin-Ethereum Bridge
Major cryptocurrency exchange Binance plans to use a bridge between the Syscoin and Ethereum blockchains to move its Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin between them. The bridge developed by Blockchain Foundry — the firm powering the Syscoin blockchain — will allow BUSD holders to move their tokens between the Ethereum and Syscoin blockchains. This will also make the stablecoin available on the Syscoin blockchain for the first time. Binance said, “Users can take advantage of Syscoin’s fast, scalable and low-cost transactions while also preserving the ability to leverage Ethereum’s smart contract functionality. Also help provide more use cases for BUSD holding …
Technology / July 23, 2020
Binance Will Support Newly Announced Ethereum Muir Glacier Upgrade
Major cryptocurrency exchange Binance will suspend Ether (ETH) deposits and withdrawals to support the recently announced Ethereum network Muir Glacier upgrade. In a Dec. 30 blog post, Binance said that deposits and withdrawals will be suspended on the platform prior to the Ethereum network block height of 9,200,000 selected to execute the upgrade. Ether trading will not be affected While ETH trading will not be affected during the upgrade, deposits and withdrawals will be reopened once Binance deems the upgraded network to be stable. Binance noted that it will not make a separate announcement about the resumption of deposits and …
Blockchain / Dec. 30, 2019
Altcoin Roundup: 3 P2E games that don't need Ethereum to make waves
The rise of blockchain-based play-to-earn (P2E) gaming was one of the leading stories in 2021 as games such as Axie Infinity exploded in popularity and players realized that they could make life-changing amounts of money while also having fun. According to data from Footprint Analytics, the Ethereum network remains the leader when it comes to the number of games launched on-chain, but persistently high fees and network congestion have pushed a growing number of players to layer-2, cross-chain, bridge-supporting networks and competing blockchains that offer lower-cost transactions costs. Here’s a look at a few non-Ethereum blockchain networks that are gaining …
Adoption / Feb. 11, 2022
Crypto recruitment execs reveal the safest jobs amid layoff season
Despite a wave of heavy crypto layoffs to start the new year, employees in technical and engineering roles, as well as senior management, will likely continue to see “strong demand” for their skills, recruitment professionals believe. It’s been a tough first few weeks of 2023 for crypto businesses and their staff. Within just two weeks, the market has already seen more than 1,600 crypto-related job cuts as a result of continued market volatility and uncertainty. However, not all departments have seen the same level of cuts. SAFU: Senior-level tech and engineering Rob Paone, founder and CEO of crypto recruitment firm …
Blockchain / Jan. 18, 2023