Bitstamp ending ether staking services in the US

Bitstamp, the longest-running crypto exchange, is set to end its ether staking program for all U.S. users from next month.

"Starting September 25, 2023, Bitstamp will no longer offer staking services in the United States," Bobby Zagotta, Bitstamp's U.S. CEO and global chief commercial officer, said in a statement shared with The Block. "As a result, U.S. customers will stop receiving staking rewards. All other Bitstamp services will remain unaffected."

The move comes amid a challenging regulatory environment in the U.S. Staking services have recently been targeted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, with the agency saying such services fall under investment contracts and therefore have to be registered as securities.

Earlier this year, crypto exchange Kraken ceased its staking service for U.S. customers as part of its $30 million settlement with the SEC due to an alleged unregistered securities offering. The SEC recently also sued Coinbase, saying the crypto exchange's prime brokerage, exchange and staking programs violate securities laws. Coinbase then moved to halt staking services in California, New Jersey, South Carolina and Wisconsin states.

"Considering current regulatory dynamics in the U.S., we've made the decision to discontinue staking for customers residing in the United States," Bitstamp's Zagotta said.

Bitstamp ETH staking

Bitstamp only offered ETH staking in the U.S., with a commission of 15% on all rewards received by users.

"Customers will continue earning staking rewards up until September 25, 2023, and after that, all staked assets will be unstaked," Zagotta said. "Rewards, along with the principal, will be credited to users' main Bitstamp account balances. Typically, this process takes a few days but could be extended depending on network conditions."

Earlier this month, Bitstamp also halted trading of seven tokens in the U.S. that were all recently called unregistered securities by the SEC including Polygon, Solana and Near Protocol.