By
Benjamin Njiri
April 23rd, 2024
MEW has become the first Ethereum wallet to announced staking with the PoS Ethereum 2.0. The service launch comes in partnership with Staked who will be running validator nodes on behalf of MEW.
MyEtherWallet, one of the most-popular Ethereum software wallets, has recently announced support for Ethereum 2.0 staking. With this, users of the MyEtherWallet browser and mobile staking now get an option to stake ETH tokens with the deposit contracts of Ethereum 2.0 Beacon Chain which launched last week on December 1.
In return, users can start earning rewards for helping to secure the Proof-of-Stake Ethereum network. The latest announcement by MyEtherWallet comes in partnership with node-hosting service Staked. Note that MyEtherWallet needs to stake a minimum of 32 ETH to participate.
MyEtherWallet and Ethereum 2.0 Staking
Staked will help users by running a validator node on their behalf. This was even users with no technical knowledge can participate easily without any further action on their part. Staked hosts the validator node and also offers software to manage user deposits on MyEtherWallet. Both – MyEtherWallet and Staked – have said that the service is non-custodial. Thus, users get to keep absolute control of their keys.
Although MyEtherWallet users get to receive validator rewards in ETH, they can’t withdraw it until “phase 2 launch” i.e. two years from now. Speaking to Decrypt, MEW founder and CEO Kosala Hemachandra said:
“Mobile access to all that the Ethereum blockchain has to offer – including swaps, DeFi, moving BTC to Ethereum, and staking – can dramatically reduce barrier to entry and increase participation in the network. That in turn will lead to more security, more liquidity, and better transaction throughput across the network.”
MyEtherWallet Integrating DeFi Products
With the rising DeFi mania, MyEtherWallet has integrated several DeFi products throughout 2020. This includes decentralized exchange aggregators like 1inch as well as lending and borrowing DeFi platforms like Aave. Offering the staking services for ETH 2.0 will make MyEtherWallet a prominent part of the Ethereum ecosystem. Staked CEO Tim Ogilvie said:
“We are thrilled to extend our support to MEW. MEW is rightly regarded as one of the original Ethereum wallets and it is only fitting that MEW users can now take advantage of our staking infrastructure to participate in Ethereum’s major upgrade.”
MyEtherWallet is not the only player to allow staking services for Ethereum 2.0. Previously, crypto exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken have also announced support for ETH 2.0 staking via the user accounts.