Coinbase to roll out Ethereum 2.0 staking. U.S. Digital Currency Exchange Coinbase has outlined plans to embrace Ethereum 2.0 rewards—which could potentially set the stage for even broader acceptance of the smart contract platform.
In an official blog post, Coinbase says it plans to carry out the services of Eth2, trading and conversion beginning in early 2021. When Eth2 is funded, current Coinbase users will be able to convert their Ether (ETH) to ETH2 and receive rewards.
The company said “While staked ETH2 tokens remain locked on the beacon chain, Coinbase will also enable trading between ETH2, ETH, and all other supported currencies providing liquidity for our customers.”
Coinbase indicated that it will “communicate more details closer to the launch of each feature.”
The news comes on the eve of the highly anticipated Ethereum Beacon Chain launch, which kicks off a multiyear upgrade of the blockchain network. The upgrade will transition Ethereum away from its existing proof-of-work consensus to a proof-of-stake network. Ethereum’s development team claims that proof-of-stake reduces centralization risks and allows for a stronger defense against 51% attacks.
Phase 0 of Eth2 was confirmed last week after Ethereum’s deposit contract met the minimum threshold of 524,288 ETH. At press time, 855,264 ETH had been sent to the 2.0 deposit contract.
Ethereum holders who choose to stake their coins will not be able to withdraw or transfer their stake until after Phase 1 is rolled out — a process that could take years. Several companies, including Darma Capital, are planning to offer intermediated staking allowing users to continue accessing their capital.
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