Binance.US Introduces New Staking Platform

The US subsidiary of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, on Tuesday launched a new staking platform, Binance.US Staking.

According to Binance Academy, staking is when validators of a blockchain lock up their coins, so they can be randomly selected by the blockchain’s protocol at specific intervals to create a block of chains and get rewarded.

Binance.US explained that its new staking platform comes with a 'auto-restake' feature and enables users to stake a selection of tokens.

“Multiple supported Proof-of-Stake cryptocurrencies are available immediately on Binance.US Staking, including ​​Audius (AUDIO), Avalanche (AVAX), BNB, Cosmos (ATOM), Livepeer (LPT), Solana (SOL) and The Graph (GRT), with more supported tokens being added to the platform in the near future,” Binance said in a statement.

Through these tokens, the crypto exchange said, users can generate an annual percentage yield (APY) of up to 18%. It said this is the highest rate among US crypto firms.

“Binance.US Staking will also allow customers to automatically restake the rewards they receive on a weekly basis, ensuring a high APY through compounding. The dashboard and user experiences were designed to provide best in class solutions, so users can more easily track their earned staking rewards,” the exchange further explained.

Commenting on the development, Brian Shroder, the President and CEO of Binance.US, explained that staking represents the first of many new innovations that empower consumers to do more with their money.

“We’re putting our seed round funding to work and keeping our promise to introduce new products and services that customers want,” Shroder added.

According to Binance, staking is one of the most popular ways for crypto holders to grow their funds without trading.

The exchange explained, “Independent staking can be a daunting process, especially in volatile markets, which is why Binance.US simplifies the staking process through a user-friendly interface, allowing customers to stake and auto-restake in only a few clicks.”

Meanwhile, Binance Labs, the venture capital and incubation arm of the cryptocurrency exchange, announced last Wednesday that it has raised $500m to fund cryptocurrency and third-generation web projects.

Furthermore, Binance is said to be facing an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for possible violations of the United Securities markets law with the sale of Binance Coin (BNB), according to a Bloomberg report.

The US securities market regulator is primarily investigating whether BNB tokens can be categorized under securities, and if Binance violated the laws with the sale of unregistered securities.