- Coinbase and Binance have both announced Ethereum staking platforms
- The Ethereum 2.0 starter pistol was officially fired today when the Phase 0 beacon chain went live
- Ethereum stakers will receive representative tokens which they can cash in for ETH when Phase 1 launches
Can’t afford 32 ETH to get you a spot as an Ethereum 2.0 node? Well fear not – exchanges have got your back. As expected, top crypto exchanges will allow you to stake as much or as little Ethereum as you want on their platform and reap the rewards, with Coinbase and Binance announcing the feature this week. Binance is of course already offering staking on a number of coins and will simply add Ethereum to their staking platform, while for Coinbase this marks a first.
Coinbase to Offer Ethereum Staking in “Early 2021”
Ethereum 2.0 officially launched yesterday after years of development, with the launch of the beacon chain marking the starting pistol in the much anticipated, and much needed, transition to the upgrade.
Coinbase were first off the mark to announce that they would support the upgrade, stating that “Coinbase customers will be able to convert ETH in their Coinbase accounts to ETH2 and earn staking rewards.” Coinbase will launch their ETH staking services in “early 2021”, with ETH2 being earned by stakers. Although the staked ETH2 will remain locked until the beacon chain, ETH2 trading will be offered by the exchange.
Binance Platform Already Live
Binance has gone one better and launched their staking mechanism today, with Ethereum stakers swapping their ETH for BETH at a 1:1 ratio and receiving BETH as a reward. These BETH tokens are essentially IOUs that stakers can cash in for ETH when the Ethereum 2.0 Phase 1 goes live.
It was always anticipated that exchanges would offer such a service, allowing those for whom $14,816 for an Ethereum node is out of the question to join in the Ethereum staking party. It is thought that more exchanges will follow suit as the upgrade continues, although there is still some debate as to whether Ethereum staking is worth it.
