Ethereum’s transition to Ethereum 2.0 officially began in December 2020 with the Beacon Chain launch. The long-awaited scaling solution takes the blockchain from a proof-of-work consensus algorithm to a proof-of-stake one. In the months since the transition began, users of the United States-based crypto exchange Kraken have allocated more than half a million Ether (ETH) to the platform for staking purposes.
On Tuesday, Kraken said via a public statement that the company was "pleased to announce that the total amount of ether staked through its platform has now surpassed 500,000 ETH, as the Ethereum community continues to express its support for the much-awaited transition to proof of stake (PoS).”
Kraken breached 500,000 staked ETH yesterday, reaching 501,300 by the time the exchange’s news became public today.
Staking interest for Eth2 grew at the tail end of 2020, leading up to the December Beacon Chain launch. The launch needed at least 16,384 participants to stake a combined sum of 524,288 ETH or more.
Participants can stake on the Eth2 network themselves, if they own at least 32 ETH and complete certain processes, Kraken’s statement noted. Kraken ETH staking, however, is more user-friendly and requires less capital. “Staking on Kraken can be done in just three clicks and is open to anyone,” the statement said. “Clients can stake from as little as just 0.00001 ETH, which is currently worth a little under 2 cents.”
ETH staked independently must be held locked indefinitely until certain Eth2 developments are met. ETH staked on Kraken operates under more flexible parameters, depending on regulatory requirements of certain regions, said the statement.
According to a Feb. 16 blog post, Coinbase has opened a waitlist for those interested in staking ETH on its platform. Binance began offering ETH staking in December 2020, with Kraken opening staking on its platform that same month.
Eth2 has been in the works for years, despite a number of setbacks, and still faces a long road ahead.