Kraken Launches Restaking on Ethereum-Based Protocol EigenLayer

Kraken is letting non-U.S. customers directly restake their ETH on Eigen Layer amid booming growth in the sector.

Kraken's customers can now restake their already-staked ETH on the Ethereum network and earn additional rewards through projects on the decentralized finance protocol EigenLayer.

The new feature aims to broaden investor access to yield-bearing opportunities on-chain, making restaking "more accessible to a broader range of clients," Kraken said in a statement on Tuesday.

Kraken subsidiary Staked, an EigenLayer operator, has been tapped as the validator for ETH restaked. Users participating in restaking can hold their rewards on Kraken or trade them for fiat or other cryptos.

Kraken’s feature comes at a time when restaking is experiencing significant growth. The total value locked in liquid restaking tokens has surged more than 3000% this year to roughly $11 billion, DefiLlama data shows.

Restaking involves using cryptos already staked on a blockchain to provide additional security or perform other functions across multiple protocols without having to unstake them. 

It also allows users to extend the utility of their staked assets, securing various decentralized platforms and earning additional rewards, thereby increasing their overall yield.

Hoping to simplify that process, the exchange is positioning it as a means to “significantly lower” investors’ barriers to entry, a spokesperson told Decrypt.

“As the vast majority of crypto users already interface with CEXs, this integration makes restaking immediately more accessible to a broader range of clients,” Mark Greenberg, Kraken’s global head of asset growth, said in the statement.

While the offering is available in various parts of Europe, those customers in the U.S. are denied access, including other jurisdictions where "geographic restrictions apply," Kraken said.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair

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