Bitfinex Opens Staking, Offering 10% Annual Return on Three Tokens

Cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex has entered the red-hot staking industry.

Announcing the news on April 7, Bitfinex noted that users can get annual rewards of 10% by depositing and holding proof-of-stake tokens on the exchange.

Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino detailed:

“We are supporting EOS, V.Systems, and Cosmos (ATOM) tokens at launch, with Tezos (XTZ) to follow in May and then all stackable tokens in the coming months.”

When asked for reason behind supporting these three tokens at launch, Ardoino stated that Bitfinex is one of the main EOS block producers and has a “really active” EOS market, while Cosmos and V.Systems are “two of the most popular staking enabled blockchains.”

Bitfinex’s entry into staking is driven by customer demand, according to Ardoino. He added that the service is available for both retail and institutional customers.

The announcement notes that users’ staked tokens will be held in Bitfinex’s in-house custody solution.

Ardoino also said that staking rewards for all the three tokens are the same — flat 10% per annum. However, it is still to clarify what fees Bitfinex is charging for the service.

Bitfinex joins the ranks of exchanges already supporting staking, such as Coinbase, Binance and Kraken.

Currently Coinbase and Kraken support only Tezos coin and remain the largest operators of Tezos staking validators. Binance supports more than 15 coins, including Tezos, EOS and ATOM.

Kraken is planning to add support for ATOM and DASH coins as well, according to its website.

Besides exchanges, venture firms and custodians also provide staking services, including Fenbushi Capital and BitGo. Tim Ogilvie, founder and CEO of Staked, commented:

“Every exchange, custodian, and wallets are going to get into the business of staking.”