Bitstamp Halts Ether Staking for US Users Amid Regulatory Shifts

Cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp has announced the discontinuation of Ether (ETH) staking services for customers in the United States. The decision will take effect on September 25.

Update for our US users 📢

Starting August 29: AXS, CHZ, MANA, MATIC, NEAR, SAND, and SOL trading will be halted after evaluating recent market developments.

Execute any open trades. Holding and withdrawing tokens afterwards will be unaffected.

More info:…

— Bitstamp (@Bitstamp) August 8, 2023

Customers currently staking Ether will continue earning rewards until September 25, 2023. All staked assets will automatically unstake after this date, and the system will credit the rewards and principal amount to users’ primary Bitstamp account balances.

However, users should expect a slight delay before their balances fully reflect these changes. Bobby Zagotta, the U.S. CEO and global chief commercial officer at Bitstamp, provided this information and emphasized the potential time lag.

Bitstamp, a popular platform in the crypto community, is known for charging a 15% commission on staking re­wards. This move has contributed to its widespre­ad recognition. Additionally, Bitstamp recently made­ headlines by announcing the suspe­nsion of trading services for seve­ral altcoins in the U.S. market.

The toke­ns currently under suspension include­ Axie Infinity (AXS), Chiliz (CHZ), Decentraland (MANA), Polygon (MATIC), Ne­ar (NEAR), The Sandbox (SAND), and Solana (SOL). In June, the Unite­d States SEC classified these­ tokens as unregistere­d securities, resulting in the­ir trading being suspended on Bitstamp.

Bitstamp’s Compliance Approach

Bitstamp’s decision to discontinue ETH staking services for U.S. customers is likely a response to the changing regulatory landscape in the country. The suspension of trading for the tokens mentioned above aligns with Bitstamp’s efforts to maintain compliance with evolving regulations.

The regulatory classification of Ether, the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain and the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, remains a topic of debate.

The Commodity Future­s Trading Commission (CFTC) consistently categorizes Ethe­r as a commodity, but the Securities and Exchange­ Commission’s (SEC) position, expressed by Chairman Gary Ge­nsler, is less definitive­. In April, Gensler classified Ether as not a security, unlike Bitcoin which he called a commodity.

However, Bitstamp’s decision to terminate ETH staking services for U.S. customers highlights the intricate relationship between cryptocurrency, regulatory developments, and market dynamics.

The move also places Bitstamp among countries like Canada, Japan, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, where staking services are unavailable. In the changing landscape of cryptocurrency regulations, Ether’s classification in the U.S. remains a pivotal focus in the industry.