MetaMask has put to sea a pooled staking service to enable users to stake any number of ETH tokens to secure the network and reap validator rewards.
Prior to this, users in possession of only a minimum of 32 ETH could stake on in-house validators operated by Consensys, the developer of MetaMask.
Consensys pointed out that 99% of ETH holders possess tokens less than the minimum threshold, and thus, its service launch would prove to be handy.
Several other projects like Lido and Rocket Pool offer a similar service and allow users to stake any amount of ETH. Alongside, users are granted a liquid staking token that can be used within the DeFi ecosystem to garner staking rewards.
Commenting on how the staking solution can be accessed by “many more” users, Matthieu Saint Olive, Senior Product Manager at Consensys, said,
“With Pooled Staking, MetaMask users now have an easy way to stake ETH in enterprise-grade validators while maintaining full control of their ETH, earning rewards and making Ethereum more secure.”
MetaMask also offers users unstaking flexibility. Tokens can be unstaked at any time. However, it should be borne in mind that this will be subject to variable waiting time based on the current Ethereum validator exit queue.
This new service will be rolled out in phases. One chunk of eligible users gain access right off the bat from today, while others will receive it in the coming days.
MetaMask users from the US or UK will not have initial access to this service, owing to regulatory ambiguity. However, Consensys intends to bring pooled staking to these markets too subsequently.
Consensys Staking is home to over 33,000 Ethereum validators. They’re hosted in a multi-cloud, multi-client infrastructure. Cumulatively, it has more than 1 million ETH staked, zero slashed validators, and an almost cent percent validator participation rate.
