Investment retirement account platform iTrustCapital recently surpassed $6 billion in total transaction volume in August, and the platform has plans to expand its services to offer digital asset staking, starting with Polkadot’s token DOT. This month, the IRA launched its DOT staking service which iTrustCapital’s Chief Strategy Officer Kevin Maloney told Benzinga about:
“We started with Polkadot, and we have thousands of clients involved with staking after the beta launch. That represents about 25% of DOT on our platform…It’s been just under 2 weeks since DOT staking went live.”
With a quarter of all DOT on the platform now being staked, there’s clearly strong interest to stake digital assets in iTrustCapital’s investment retirement accounts. This being said, DOT is just one of about 30 cryptocurrencies offered on iTrustCapital.
As such, the retirement account platform plans to add staking support for more digital assets in the coming months. Maloney told Benzinga, “iTrustCapital hasn’t announced staking for additional digital assets yet, but over the coming weeks and months these will be announced.” Investors that stake digital assets often view their investments as long-term positions. Being that iTrustCapital is an IRA, many of its users are also long-term oriented––making staking an excellent option for many using the platform.
Staking cryptocurrencies on a network offers a risk-averse way to earn a yield on one’s digital assets. This is in contrast to lending platforms, such as BlockFi and Celsius, which earn yield via lending rates rather than staking rewards. While APYs for lending are sometimes higher than staking as a validator, there are less risks involved with staking.
Maloney added a comment regarding risks, “We’re super transparent on fees and risks and we want them to understand the benefits and risks of staking.” Regarding DOT staking, users can earn up to 9.5% APY by staking with an iTrustCapital account. In the near future, it’s likely that the firm will add more support for various other digital assets alongside Polkadot.
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