Bitfinex launches a staking rewards program for retail customers

Bitfinex has become the latest crypto exchange to offer staking services to users, which allows customers to collect inflation rewards on their otherwise idle Proof-of-Stake (PoS) assets. The exchange’s new Staking Rewards Program currently features returns on Cosmos, V.Systems, and EOS. It also supports Tezos. But since it takes multiple cycles for staked XTZ to start earning rewards, Bitfinex users won’t receive their first Tezos payouts until May 11.

Why it matters:

• Staking is becoming a must-add service for exchanges to keep up with the competition. Several other major exchanges, including Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken, have been offering staking services to retail users for months. The push to add staking should also start to extend to crypto custodians and possibly funds that manage assets on behalf of their customers.
• One consequence of major exchanges and custodians adopting staking services is the increased concentration of staked assets and, in some cases, voting power. Since exchanges make staking stupid simple, this trend should continue unabated in the short to medium-term. But this concentration of voting power due to convenience could be offset by a viable voting solution for users that delegate assets through an exchange.