Kraken Resumes Staking in the US After SEC Dispute

Kraken, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has restarted staking services in the United States. The restart comes close to two years since the company agreed to a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States regarding its staking services. Kraken’s restart of staking services in 37 U.S. states marks an important move both for the company and users.

Staking allows users to earn rewards by locking up their cryptocurrencies to support blockchain networks, and Kraken is offering the opportunity to stake 17 assets, including popular cryptocurrencies like Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL). In this blog, we’ll take a closer look at the significance of Kraken’s decision, what it means for the future of staking, and the assets available for staking on the platform.


Why did Kraken suspend staking in the US?

Kraken suspended staking services in the United States due to a legal fight with the SEC in 2021. The SEC began arguing that Kraken’s staking services might have violated securities laws. The case was settled in 2023 where Kraken agreed to pay a fine and restructure staking offerings for regulatory compliance.

That marked a big gap in the market for users who wanted to participate in staking without having to use decentralized platforms. The regulatory uncertainty around staking and the broader crypto market caused many exchanges to review their staking models to be in compliance with U.S. securities laws.


What Does Kraken’s Staking Relaunch Mean?

The relaunch of staking at Kraken has proven to be an opportunity for the exchange to showcase its compliance with regulations and offer users a chance to once again participate in staking. Resuming its staking services is, in itself, a good development for Kraken and the cryptocurrency market as a whole because it demonstrates that centralized platforms can indeed deal with regulatory issues and continue providing their users with worthwhile services.

For U.S. users, it means they can once again stake their digital assets on one of the most famous exchanges and reap rewards. Kraken’s staking return will be a great victory for the easy-to-use platform for the staking of assets like Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and other cryptos.


Available Assets for Staking on Kraken

Kraken’s staking platform now lets users stake 17 different assets, giving an incredibly wide selection of investment choices. Some notable assets that one can stake are:

Ethereum (ETH): Ethereum’s shift to proof-of-stake with Ethereum 2.0 has unlocked a lot of new opportunities for staking rewards. Kraken’s users can stake ETH to obtain rewards for their network support.
Polkadot (DOT): Users can stake DOT and participate in its multi-chain ecosystem, with additional staking rewards through the network’s unique governance system.
Cardano (ADA): Users can stake ADA and participate in Cardano’s proof-of-stake mechanism, securing the network and earning rewards in return.
Avalanche (AVAX): Kraken users can stake their native token, AVAX, for the Avalanche network in order to help to secure the blockchain and earn staking rewards.
Tezos: On Tezos, users have the ability to stake XTZ and receive regular rewards for helping to validate transactions on the network.
Cosmos: Cosmos, a network designed to enable different blockchains to communicate with each other, also offers staking rewards for users who participate in its governance.

And many more…

The variety of available assets allows users to diversify their staking portfolios and choose the assets that best fit their investment strategies and risk tolerance.


How Kraken’s Staking Works

Kraken’s staking service is user-friendly. Users need to deposit the supported cryptocurrency into their Kraken account and opt into staking to start staking. Once staked, users can begin earning rewards based on the staking yield of the respective asset.

The award for staking is usually returned, and the amount depends on the total amount of cryptocurrency staked and on the mechanism by which the rewards are rolled out within the network. Kraken’s platform also allows users easily to monitor their staking progress because it is user-friendly even for novice bitcoin users but especially ideal for experienced ones.

Benefits of Staking on Kraken

Easy to use: Kraken’s staking platform provides a seamless experience to users to stake their assets directly from the exchange.
Security: Kraken is considered highly secured, and an ideal place for users to stake their assets without worrying about the risks usually present with decentralized platforms.

No Minimum Requirements Unlike other staking platforms, it does not mandate the staker to meet exorbitant staking requirements at all, leaving more space available for those carrying relatively smaller portfolios.


What This Portends into the Future about Staking:

The news of Kraken’s relaunch of staking services in the U.S. marks a step for the crypto industry, especially on the aspect of regulatory clarity. It indicates that decentralized platforms can still offer staking services that are within the margins set by U.S. regulations. This is an element in helping broaden adoption of staking among U.S. users.

With more exchange and financial institutions joining the stakes, we will witness rapid innovation, and the services in the stakes will be improved. Kraken launching staking after a regulatory pause also sets off the precedent for other exchanges to look at their staking models, reevaluate them, and restart similar offerings of staking.

Kraken has resumed staking services in the United States in what is an important milestone for the exchange as well as for the cryptocurrency space at large. Close to two years since it disagreed with the SEC, Kraken has thus passed the necessary regulatory tests that brought back its staking services for users across 37 states. With staking services of 17 assets such as Ethereum and Solana, Kraken affirms the provision of quality services to users. As staking continues to play a larger role in the overall crypto ecosystem, Kraken’s relaunch could be the start of a new generation of staking on centralized platforms.


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