Crypto exchange Gemini recently announced that it’s launching staking services for a bunch of Altcoins including Ethereum. The official statement read,
“As of today, you can start staking MATIC on the Polygon network, Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Polkadot (DOT), and Audius (AUDIO) support will be launched soon.”
Staking, as such, is the process by which investors can fetch passive income for HODLing crypto assets. Staking service providers, on their part, used staked coins to enhance the security of the underlying blockchain networks.
The market has been quite indecisive of late. Post US’s inflation numbers were out last week, the markets rallied. However, when the minutes of the FOMC meeting were released a day back, the market started trading in the red. In fact, on Friday, there was blood all across the board, for the market noted an abrupt crash. Right from Bitcoin and Ethereum to top alts, the entire crypto-sphere was blood-soaked.
Resultantly, it goes without saying that HODLers rely on stable passive income derived via staking during such turbulent phases. Data from staking rewards revealed that Solana’s had one of the highest staking ratios [74%]. Polygon’s MATIC stood next with 33%. Polkadot and Ethereum’s numbers stood at a modest 14% and 11% respectively. The rewards for staking the said alts varied from 4% to 12%.
Commenting on the launch of the staking service, Franck Kengne, Product Manager at Gemini said,
“The launch of Gemini Staking underscores our continued commitment to offering a full suite of innovative options for our customers to put their crypto assets to work. We continue to seek out new ways to help our customers grow their crypto portfolios and tailor them to their risk appetite — staking is an important next step in that evolution.”
Notably, staking is the second yield-generating product launched by Gemini. They already have another program called Gemini Earn. Both Staking and Earn allow users to earn a yield on your crypto. However, there’s a major difference. Chalking out the same, the official blog post highlighted,
“Gemini Staking offers a seamless way to further explore the world of crypto and help secure and validate blockchain transactions, with yield generated through crypto rewards paid out to validators. With Gemini Earn, we partner with accredited and thoroughly vetted third-party borrowers who deliver yield to Gemini users generated through payment of interest on loaned assets.“
Staking hype inflates ahead of Ethereum’s Merge
Well, Gemini is not the only firm tapping on the staking hype ahead of Ethereum’s Merge. Companies like Coinbase have already climbed onto the bandwagon, despite regulatory concerns haunting them. Earlier in August, the crypto exchange had offered staking to domestic institutional clients in the US and intends to become the leading staking provider going forward.
Also Read: Can Staking aid Coinbase to improve its Q3-Q4 performance?
In fact, tweeting on similar lines, Gemini’s co-founder Cameron Winklevoss said,
“.. we listen closely to our community. With the upcoming ETH merge we’ve seen growing excitement around staking and we’re looking forward to introducing staking support for many more tokens in the future. Amazing awaits.”