By
Temitope Olatunji
April 24th, 2024
Gemini Staking will cover users’ gas-related expenses as well as manage their private keys.
Crypto staking platforms are the new battlefields for crypto exchanges out there as the demand for these services shoots. On Thursday, August 18, popular crypto exchange Gemini launched its new staking service dubbed Gemini Staking.
Gemini Staking
To begin with, Gemini is allowing staking facilities only for Polygon’s native crypto MATIC. It will soon start staking facility for other digital assets such as Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and Audius (AUDIO).
Before the new product launch, users needed to go to native blockchains to stake their tokens. Later, they would earn rewards for validating the respective blockchain networks. Well, Gemini Staking will offer direct competition to crypto exchanges like Coinbase which has already been in this game for a while.
As per the announcement, Gemini Staking will cover related gas expenses. Besides, Gemini will also leverage its in-house security features to manage users’ private keys. Speaking on the launch, Franck Kengne, Product Manager at Gemini said:
“The launch of Gemini Staking underscores our continued commitment to offering a full suite of innovative options for our customers to put their crypto assets to work. We continue to seek out new ways to help our customers grow their crypto portfolios and tailor them to their risk appetite — staking is an important next step in that evolution.”
Gemini’s Yield-Generating Products
Gemini Staking is another yield-generating product from the company in addition to Gemini Earn. However, there are key differences in how these two products operate.
Gemini Stakings allows users to secure and validate blockchain transactions. Later, the exchanges pays out validators the yields generated through crypto rewards. In the case of Gemini Earn, the crypto exchange partners with “vetted third-party borrowers” who deliver yield to Gemini users generated via the interest on loaned crypto assets.
The demand for crypto staking has been growing among institutional investors. Crypto exchange Coinbase is already offering institutional staking for Ether. As per JPMorgan, the staking business will immensely help Coinbase post the Ethereum Merge. But now with Gemini stepping into the game, it could possibly eat into the market share of Coinbase.
But to attract institutional clients, Gemini first needs to improve on its security measures. Earlier this year in June 2022, the IRA slapped a lawsuit on Gemini for failing to ensure strong security measures.