MetaMask Launches Pooled Staking for ETH
Ethereum developer firm Consensys has launched pool staking for its popular self-custodial wallet MetaMask.
According to the press release, MetaMask Pooled Staking makes it easy to stake ETH while earning ETH rewards for contributing to the security of the blockchain.
As is known, the minimum required by the Ethereum protocol for staking is 32 ETH. For validators operated by Consensys, this was also the minimum amount up until now.
However, Consensys has now enabled MetaMask users to stake any amount of ETH they would like through MetaMask Portfolio.
This also enables all of them to earn staking rewards.
The team stated that the new service’s key features include:
- no minimum for staking;
- earning rewards for staking ETH;
- flexible unstaking – users can unstake their ETH at any time;
- easy tracking – users can monitor balances and rewards within MetaMask Portfolio.
Additionally, to power some of its smart contracts, MetaMask Pooled Staking utilizes the open modular architecture of StakeWise, a liquid staking protocol on Ethereum.
Available to All Users Except the UK and the US
MetaMask Pooled Staking is not available for all users upon launch.
It is offered to “a portion of eligible users right away” and will continue “to roll out in the coming days.”
Asked for details, an official Consensys Spokesperson told Cryptonews that “it begins rolling out to a portion of these users” upon the announcement and “should roll out to 100% of eligible users by the end of the week.”
As for who is not eligible, the initial launch will not be available within the US or UK.
Therefore, the spokesperson further clarified that,
“At launch, the service will be available to any MetaMask Portfolio users not in the US or UK.”
However, the team aims to bring the service to these regions as well.
The spokesperson explained that the regulatory landscape in the US is “still experiencing meaningful evolution, particularly in relation to Ethereum staking policy.”
While they did not provide a time frame, the team “expects to roll out this product to US users as soon as progress crystalizes.”
Similarly, in the UK, regulators anticipate releasing additional regulatory guidance very soon that should modernize the current regime and provide greater clarity to the staking market.
“We look forward to expanding on MetaMask Pooled Staking’s success by bringing it to users in these jurisdictions soon,” the spokesperson said.
The current regulatory environment is detrimental to innovation and threatens the future of Web3 and Ethereum. FIT21 is an important initiative that shifts us away from the antagonistic, chaotic status quo and advances us towards a better framework that will ensure US leadership…
— Consensys (@Consensys) May 22, 2024
What the Numbers Say
The press release provided a few notable staking-related details.
Based on blockchain data, it said, 99% of ETH holders have less than 32 ETH.
This is why solutions that allow staking smaller amounts of ETH have been popping up to include more people.
Moreover, 74% of ETH is not staked at the moment. And much of the ETH that is staked resides in a few large pools.
Additionally, MetaMask Pooled Staking is underpinned by Consensys Staking, the team said.
Consensys Staking “boasts over 33,000 hosted Ethereum validators in a multi-cloud, multi-region and multi-client infrastructure, more than 1 million ETH staked, zero slashed validators, and a 99.9+% validator participation rate.”
Exciting news! @Consensys Staking is now staking over 1M ETH 🥳
Thank you to our community for helping us reach this incredible milestone🙏
Join us as we continue to make staking accessible to everyone! https://t.co/N0gwGSwhdq
— Consensys (@Consensys) August 29, 2023
Therefore, with all the above considered, MetaMask Pooled Staking makes staking accessible to more users. At the same time, it contributes to Ethereum’s decentralization and security.
“MetaMask users now have an easy way to stake ETH in enterprise-grade validators while maintaining full control of their ETH,” commented Matthieu Saint Olive, Senior Product Manager at Consensys.
