The Cayman Islands-based lending platform Ledn is set to launch Ethereum (ETH) staking accounts from October 12, 2023. This move follows user requests for a more streamlined method of earning interest from their ETH holdings, without the need for manual staking and management of Ether through liquid staking pools.
Ledn's Growth Accounts will facilitate this offering, alongside existing services that allow users to earn interest on Bitcoin (BTC) and USD Coin (USDC) deposits. The firm has emphasized that these accounts are "ring-fenced" from Ledn's other services, meaning that deposited ETH will only be exposed to the counterparty generating yield from the staked amount. This approach ensures users' deposits will remain unaffected if Ledn were to face bankruptcy.
Ledn's chief strategy officer, Mauricio Di Bartolomeo, said that users have frequently inquired about an Ether offering. He expressed confidence that this would provide a favorable alternative to self-managing ETH staking: “This yield option is significantly easier to set up than native ETH staking. Looking forward, we’re working towards rolling out ETH support across the entire Ledn suite of products in the coming months,” he said.
In addition to the forthcoming ETH staking service, Ledn will also introduce a second stablecoin Growth Account on October 12, enabling users to deposit and earn interest on Tether (USDT) tokens. However, these new offerings will not be available to users based in the United States or Canada.
Ledn's move into Ethereum follows a trend among Bitcoin-first companies expanding their support for other cryptocurrencies. For instance, Casa, a non-custodial wallet platform initially focused on Bitcoin, introduced multi-signature ETH self-storage in June 2023.
In August 2023, Ledn also announced a partnership with the Cayman Islands' real estate company Parallel. This collaboration aims to allow cryptocurrency users to invest in property as a means to attain eventual residency.
The launch of these new services comes amidst a backdrop of high-profile failures within the cryptocurrency lending industry, highlighting the potential risks associated with over-extended and questionable lending practices. Ledn's ring-fencing mechanism is designed to shield clients from such risks associated with other company offerings.
This development also coincides with Ethereum developers' recent agreement to introduce measures slowing the rate at which new stakers can come online, as part of Ethereum's next upgrade. This decision was made in response to concerns about the potential impact of excessive staking on Ethereum's on-chain liquidity and transaction fee availability.
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.