Major cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase revealed its plans yesterday to offer Ethereum 2.0 staking through its platform. While users can stake their 32 ETH on their own, Coinbase plans to add a user-friendly solution for those without technical expertise. Coinbase has announced the news in a Medium blog post on November 30.
Ethereum 2.0 has finally launched today, although with a limited protocol version. The 1st of December marks the completion of Phase 0 which includes launching the beacon chain and genesis block. Throughout November, a new deposit contract deployed by the Ethereum team has collected thousands of ETH.
The final goal was to reach more than 500,000 ETH to launch the genesis block, which investors have deposited hours before the deadline on November 24.
Today, Ethereum finally launched the beacon chain along with the first phase of ETH 2.0. To support this development and help new users stake their assets, Coinbase announced support for Ethereum 2.0 staking.
While the model remains unknown, the exchange notes that users will be able to exchange their existing ETH for ETH2 which they can then stake.
All staked ETH2 tokens will remain locked onto the beacon chain for a selected period. Moreover, Coinbase will allow everyone to trade and exchange between ETH2, ETH, and any other cryptocurrency.
According to Coinbase, Ethereum 2.0 staking will be launched in early 2021. However, the staking mechanism will only be available for those who reside in eligible jurisdictions.
As the launch date comes closer, Coinbase plans to delve further into the details regarding staking. At the end of the blog post, Coinbase stated:
“We’re excited for this major milestone for ETH2, and the potential that a final rollout of ETH2 holds for the entire cryptocurrency community.”
– Coinbase
What is Ethereum 2.0, and when will the final version come out?
In the past months, Defiye has explored the staging process and eventual development that led to the launch of Ethereum 2.0. As the future Proof-of-Stake mainnet network that Ethereum will utilize, the new version brings many significant updates.
For many, ETH2’s rollout offers lower fees, higher transaction speed, higher transaction throughput, and much more. With this network overhaul, the developer team will completely revolutionize not only the broader cryptocurrency sector but DeFi as well.
According to some views, Ethereum 2.0 might ignite another DeFi Boom. But when can we expect anything radical to occur in the blockchain industry? According to the current release schedule, Ethereum is far away from launching the final version of the new PoS network. There are three more stages left, which include Phase 1, Phase 1.5, and Phase 2.
Experts believe that, in an optimistic timeline, developers would launch one stage at least every quarter in 2021. On that account, Ethereum 2.0 would finally go online at its full capacity near the end of Q3 2021. However, some are cynical and expect developers to slow down. In that case, Q4 would be the earliest date for a full launch.
Nevertheless, a full network may not matter that much in the end. As long as the new network delivers amazing updates, lower gas fees, and faster transactions, both developers and investors will have a bullish case in their hands.