Staking allows customers to earn a yield of up to 7.5% for simply holding ETH2. The reason your crypto earns rewards while staked is because the blockchain puts it to work by making the underlying blockchain of that asset more secure and more efficient.
By joining the waitlist today, customers will be first in line to earn ETH2 staking rewards. Getting rewarded with different cryptocurrencies is one of our top requests. We initially announced our support for ETH2 last fall, and we’re excited to be one step closer to delivering on our promise. We first started offering staking rewards in 2019 with Tezos, and then Cosmos last year. The ability to earn rewards, simply by holding cryptocurrencies, is made possible only with crypto-based financial services.
Once off the waitlist, there are no minimum amounts required to stake, and customers can convert, stake, and earn rewards on a portion of Ethereum instead of their entire balance. They will also be able to see their rewards add up in real-time through the lifetime rewards ticker in the Coinbase app or on Coinbase.com.
Initially, customers will not be able to sell or send the portion of Ethereum that they choose to stake. However, Coinbase will offer a way to trade any staked Ethereum in the coming months. Coinbase will continue to share more information about ETH2 rewards once it becomes available. Customers in New York State are not currently eligible to sign-up for the waitlist.
A quick guide on Ethereum and Ethereum 2.0
Ethereum launched in 2015 and is now the second-biggest cryptocurrency by market cap after bitcoin. But unlike bitcoin, it wasn’t created to be digital money. Instead, Ethereum was built as a new kind of global, decentralized computing platform.
Upgrading the current Ethereum network to ETH2 is a significant and complex endeavor that will improve network speed, efficiency, and scalability. The multi-year investment by the Ethereum community will reduce bottlenecks, decrease fees, and consume less resources (particularly electricity).
See our full Ethereum guide to learn more about its origin and functionalities. Learn more information on staking and trading here.
And if you enjoy working on high-impact, crypto-first challenges, check out all our open positions here. We’d love to hear from you.
*The APR rate is based on the estimated Ethereum 2.0 network rate, which will change as more ETH2 is staked. Customers will be able to see the latest rate directly within their accounts.
was originally published in The Coinbase Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
