The crypto exchange Bitstamp has announced that it will be ending staking services for its U.S.-based customers on September 25th. This decision comes shortly after Bitstamp halted trading for seven altcoins in the country. Customers will continue to earn staking rewards until September 25th, 2023, after which all staked assets will be unstaked and credited to users’ main Bitstamp account balances. It may take a few days for users’ balances to reflect these changes. Bitstamp charges a 15% commission on all staking rewards, and the monthly reward rate for staking ETH on the exchange is 4.50%. The move to discontinue staking services for U.S. customers aligns with other countries where Bitstamp does not offer staking services, such as Canada, Japan, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. This decision is likely related to recent legal developments in the United States, as several altcoins were deemed unregistered securities by the SEC in June. The classification of Ether as a commodity or security remains a central issue in the ongoing regulatory environment in the U.S. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has referred to Ether as a commodity, while SEC Chair Gary Gensler has not specified its classification.
