Sygnum becomes first bank to offer staking for Ethereum 2.0
The Zurich-based digital asset bank is offering clients up to 7% annual returns on their staked Ether
Swiss digital asset bank Sygnum announced yesterday that it would offer Ethereum 2.0 staking, making it the first bank to do so.
Less than a month after rolling out a portfolio of decentralised finance (DeFi) tokens, the Zurich-based bank is expanding its offering of yield-generating products. Sygnum already provides a yield-generating fixed term deposit on its Digital Swiss Franc stablecoin (DCHF), in addition to Tezos staking.
Now, Sygnum clients can also earn annual returns of up to 7% by staking their Ether through a service which is fully integrated with the banking platform. Staked Ether is held in segregated wallets with institutional-grade custody to keep it secure.
Sygnum’s Head of Business Units, Thomas Eichenberger, explained, “Ethereum is the second largest blockchain protocol, and Ethereum staking is a core element for digital asset portfolios which can now be accessed in a convenient, secure and regulated setting. This further expands Sygnum’s offering of attractive, regulated yield generating products to meet the needs of clients to accumulate other forms of return in addition to capital appreciation.”
With the Ethereum-based DeFi sector growing exponentially, a highly scalable Ethereum becomes increasingly necessary. As Ethereum 2.0 transitions the network to the less energy-intensive Proof of Stake consensus mechanism, it’s estimated that the updated network could use 99.95% less energy, reducing Ethereum’s environmental impact and solving the issues of congestion and soaring gas costs.
Head of Accounts and Custody at Sygnum Bank, Thomas Brunner, added, “Sygnum clients can participate in the new proof-of-stake Ethereum and benefit from potentially higher staking rewards now. This is a compelling choice for long-term investors in the Ethereum ecosystem.”
The Beacon Chain – the first stage of the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade – launched in December 2020 along with staking. Since then, 6.2 million ETH has been staked in the Ethereum 2.0 deposit contract, which is currently worth $14.8 billion and represents more than 5% of the circulating supply.
It will likely take more than a year for the upgrade to be fully rolled out. However, the next stage of the upgrade – the London hard fork – was deployed on the Ropsten testnet last month and 4 August 2021 has just been proposed as the date for its activation on the mainnet.
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Alice Leetham, @KhareemSudlow