Binance Introduces Ether Staking in US as It Steps Up Competition With Rivals

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance is introducing ether (ETH) staking in the U.S. ahead of the Ethereum "Merge."

Binance will start offering a 6% annual percentage yield (APY) to its U.S. customers for as low as 0.001 ETH ($1.51) staked, the exchange announced Wednesday.

Staking involves users locking up their digital assets to support the running of proof-of-stake (PoS) networks.

The Merge is the Ethereum's transition from a proof-of-work (PoW) network to PoS and is expected to take place around Sept. 13-15. The hope is that the transition away from the energy-intensive PoW mechanism will improve the efficiency and scalability of Ethereum and attract more mainstream adoption.

Binance first started offering staking to U.S. customers in June and now supports the tokens of blockchains Cardano (ADA), Polkadot (DOT) and Polygon (MATIC), among several others. At the time, CEO of Binance.US Brian Shroder said the aim was to outdo the staking APYs offered by rivals such as Coinbase (COIN) and Gemini.

The timing of extending support to Ethereum suggests Binance.US sees ETH as a major staking battleground in the months ahead.

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.