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Bitstamp has announced the discontinuation of staking services for Ether (ETH) for customers based in the United States, effective September 25, 2023. Customers will continue to earn staking rewards until that date, after which all staked assets will be unstaked.
Solana Labs, the startup responsible for building products and tools to expand the Solana ecosystem, has announced the integration of Solana Pay with Shopify, a leading global commerce platform.
Fred Thiel, CEO of Marathon Digital Holdings, has expressed optimism about the SEC approving a spot Bitcoin ETF. In a recent interview with Decrypt, Thiel stated that the chances are better than fifty-fifty. He pointed to major players like BlackRock pursuing this goal as evidence of a high degree of certainty that approval could be achieved.
Top Stories in the Crypto Roundup today:
- Bitstamp Set to Halt Ether (ETH) Staking in the U.S. Amid Regulatory Uncertainty
- Shopify Adds Support for Decentralized Payment Protocol Solana Pay
- Marathon Digital CEO: Odds of SEC Approving Bitcoin ETF Better Than 50-50
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Bitstamp Set to Halt Ether (ETH) Staking in the U.S. Amid Regulatory Uncertainty
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Bitstamp has announced the discontinuation of staking services for Ether (ETH) for customers based in the United States, effective September 25, 2023. Customers will continue to earn staking rewards until that date, after which all staked assets will be unstaked, and rewards, along with the principal, will be credited to users’ Bitstamp account balances.
Bitstamp charges a 15% commission on all staking rewards, with a monthly reward rate for staking ETH at 4.50%. With this move, the U.S. joins other countries where Bitstamp staking services are unavailable, including Canada, Japan, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.
The decision appears to be related to recent legal developments in the United States. In early August, Bitstamp announced that at least seven altcoins (AXS, CHZ, MANA, MATIC, NEAR, SAND, SOL) would no longer be offered in the U.S., all of which were deemed unregistered securities by the SEC in June.
It should be noted that on June 6, the SEC launched a legal action against rival exchange Coinbase, claiming that the company’s retail staking services qualify as securities. Simultaneously, ten U.S. states began separate legal proceedings concerning Coinbase’s retail staking services. Presumably, with this move, Bitstamp wants to avoid the same fate.
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Shopify Adds Support for Decentralized Payment Protocol Solana Pay
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Solana Labs, the startup responsible for building products and tools to expand the Solana ecosystem, has announced the integration of Solana Pay with Shopify, a leading global commerce platform. This collaboration enables Shopify customers to pay in USD Coin (USDC), one of the most popular dollar-backed stablecoins, providing millions of businesses and consumers with access to decentralized payments on the Solana network.
A representative of the Solana Foundation told CoinDesk that USDC is the first payment option enabled through this integration, with other crypto assets to follow in the future. Solana Pay offers merchants real-time access to their funds, enhancing their ability to manage working capital, liquidity, and liability protection. By eliminating traditional banking fees, chargebacks, and holding times, Solana Pay enables immediate and direct payment settlement in USD stablecoins compatible with Solana.
Josh Fried, Head of Commerce Business Development at the Solana Foundation, emphasized the integration’s benefits for both merchants and consumers. The ability to pay with USDC opens up a more dynamic and efficient payment choice for millions of Shopify merchants. An additional advantage of Solana Pay is its ability to create web3-enabled commerce experiences, including token-gated offers, simple cross-border payments, and NFT-based loyalty programs.
Several brands active on Solana, including MonkeDAO, MadLads, Helius, and Solana’s merch store, have committed to making Solana Pay a payment option in their Shopify-powered storefronts, allowing payments in USDC.
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Marathon Digital CEO: Odds of SEC Approving Bitcoin ETF Better Than 50-50
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Fred Thiel, CEO of Marathon Digital Holdings, has expressed optimism about the SEC approving a spot Bitcoin ETF. In a recent interview with Decrypt, Thiel stated that the chances are better than fifty-fifty. He pointed to major players like BlackRock pursuing this goal as evidence of a high degree of certainty that approval could be achieved.
Currently, there are approximately half a dozen applications for the launch of a spot Bitcoin ETF (in the U.S.), which would directly track the price of Bitcoin. Among the hopefuls for the Bitcoin ETF are BlackRock, Wisdom Tree, VanEck, and Fidelity.
Thiel also expressed his view that if one Bitcoin ETF gets approved, several others will likely follow. He emphasized that the SEC cannot play favourites and choose only one. Additionally, Thiel mentioned that the SEC seems poised to approve an Ethereum futures ETF, which he believes would increase the likelihood of a spot Bitcoin ETF approval.
Thiel elaborated on the current pressure faced by the SEC, citing the case of the Prometheum exchange and the partial win by Ripple in a lawsuit filed by the agency. He argued that the SEC needs positive outcomes in these areas to alleviate the pressure, especially from Congress.
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