In a recent blog post, popular cryptocurrency hardware wallet Ledger announced a new partnership with Ethereum 2.0 staking solution Lido Finance in a move that claims greater accessibility and liquidity for independent stakers in the market.
Staking is a niche method of investing within the cryptocurrency ecosystem which allows users to independently or collectively stake their crypto assets, collecting passive income in return, as well as actively contributing to the sustainability of the blockchain network.
Users attempting to stake their Ether (ETH) in the past have been met with daunting economic hurdles. The current cost to become an Eth2 network validator stands at around $100,000 – a figure which many investors in this market simply cannot afford.
Centralized ETH staking options are available on exchanges such as Coinbase or Kraken, but these carry a hefty entry fee and obvious trust concerns — not ideal for investors who maintain the core industry value of free asset autonomy.
In recent months, the Ledger interface has provided users the option of decentralized staking in the form of consensus mechanisms Polkadot or Tezos, but the real demand in the market lay with the smart-contract giant Ethereum.
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By eliminating the high barrier-to-entry for staking ETH, this partnership has set precedent, allowing users to stake a nominal amount of ETH instead of the 32 ETH previously required.
As Ethereum embarks on a new frontier with Eth2, staking and indeed lending will draw in greater audience participation and offer lucrative opportunities for regular cryptocurrency participants.
In this example of Ledger and Lido; as the blog post explains: “For each Ether you’ll stake through LIDO you’ll receive stETH in exchange. These can be exchanged, sent, or sold using services such as Paraswap.”
stETH tokens — which equal ETH at a 1:1 ratio — will then become visible within your Ledger wallet. This asset figure will refresh on a daily basis to display newly accumulated staking rewards.