- Revolut has launched a robust staking service for Ethereum, Cardano, Polkadot, and Tezos.
- The staking service is projected to introduce millions of users into the crypto world.
British financial technology startup Revolut has announced the launch of its staking service for a limited range of digital currencies. According to a report by Decrypt, the supported cryptocurrencies on Revolut include Ethereum (ETH), Cardano (ADA), Polkadot (DOT), and Tezos (XTZ).
While it has its roots in mainstream financial services, Revolut comes off as one of the first fintech firms to dive into the nascent digital currency ecosystem. Since it made its debut, it has been serving its crypto community with a series of thoughtful products. The staking service is initially available to users in the United Kingdom and the European Economic Area (EEA).
Staking is a network program in which a certain amount of digital currency is locked on a contract address to support the activities of a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) protocol. A predefined reward is earned for the locked tokens, making Staking one of the most pronounced ways to earn passive income in the crypto ecosystem. Emil Urmanshin, crypto general manager at Revolut said;
We want to enable users to do more with their crypto – with withdrawals and deposits, as well as earning interest on their crypto through Staking. Staking is the first milestone on our 2023 roadmap and we’re really excited to help users put their crypto to work and earn returns on their balances at Revolut,” said Emil Urmanshin, crypto general manager at Revolut.
The Revolut staking service is billed to keep the company at the top of the competition and it plans to pay interest as high as 11.65% in terms of its Annual Percentage Yield (APY). Revolut said subscribing to the staking service comes with different conditions for all of the digital currencies supported.
To take advantage of the service, Revolut said users can buy new coins or stake the existing coins in their wallets.
Revolut and the Staking Controversy
The push by Revolut into the crypto-staking world is considered a beneficial one for the broader crypto ecosystem. Riding on this, experts believe the service and its attractive yield can help to attract more users from millions of users into the crypto world.
However, the staking service is billed to come with significant controversy, especially in the United States. This new sentiment is hinged on a recent rumor Coinbase CEO, Brian Armstrong raised that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is planning to ban staking services.
1/ We're hearing rumors that the SEC would like to get rid of crypto staking in the U.S. for retail customers. I hope that's not the case as I believe it would be a terrible path for the U.S. if that was allowed to happen.
— Brian Armstrong 🛡️ (@brian_armstrong) February 8, 2023
With the timing of the rumor and the launch of the Revolut staking service, many prospective investors may want to take a backseat with respect to the staking product. Should the rumor be acted on by the regulator, Revolut will likely refrain from offering the service to its users in the US.
For the time being, users will have to be selective about which of the supported tokens on Revolut they will like to place their staking bets on. The associated APYs to each of these digital currencies will be the major selling points for users to decide with.
