MetaMask Launches Liquid Staking of Ethereum Within Its Own Wallet: Direct Stakes to StakeWise

MetaMask, renowned provider of non-custodial software wallets, has just announced the imminent launch of the “Pooled Staking” service, which will allow its

MetaMask, a leading non-custodial software wallet provider, has announced the upcoming launch of its “Pooled Staking” service, enabling customers to leverage liquid Ethereum staking directly within the wallet extension without utilizing external dapps.

Currently, MetaMask offers a staking option, but it caters exclusively to solo stakers, a practice limited to holders of 32 ETH ($113,000 at current valuations) and natively targets validators operated by Consensys.

However, with this latest digital product launch, users of the decentralized wallet will be able to perform liquid staking even with fractions of ether and earn the respective rewards, forging new connections with the retail public who do not possess significant capital in crypto.

With “Pooled Staking,” the participants indirectly engage with the liquid staking protocol StakeWise, which employs a modular on-chain architecture and commands a 0.74% market share, amounting to 343 million dollars, in the LSDs market.

Overall, as reported by DefiLlama, this sector of the Ethereum ecosystem is valued at 13.15 million ETH, translating to 46.2 billion dollars.

It bears mentioning that this service, like all other liquid staking offerings, is subject to waiting periods for withdrawals to the wallet, which vary according to the so-called queue, essentially the exit queue of the validators on the Ethereum blockchain who, for security reasons, cannot exit en masse simultaneously.

However, it is crucial to note that Pooled Staking will not be accessible to customers residing in the United Kingdom and the United States due to regulatory uncertainties. Nevertheless, Consensys intends to eventually introduce shared staking to these markets as soon as possible.

Commenting on the news, Consensys’ Senior Product Manager Matthieu Saint Olive stated in a note:

“With Pooled Staking, MetaMask users now have an easy way to stake ETH in enterprise-level validators while maintaining full control of their ETH, earning rewards, and making Ethereum more secure. We are excited to bring our staking solution to many more MetaMask users.”

Presently, about 27.1% of the ether circulating supply, equating to 33 million ether, is locked on the Beacon chain, with the majority concentrated around a few large pools.

Consensys states that staking in MetaMask pools is supported by over 33,000 Ethereum validators, hosted in a multi-cloud, multi-region, and multi-client infrastructure, with a track record of zero slashed validators and strong internal participation.

Will MetaMask Launch Its Own Token in the Future? Here’s How to Qualify for the Potential Airdrop

The introduction of “Pooled Staking” by MetaMask marks just the latest initiative by the Consensys branch in adapting to the growing stimuli of the Ethereum ecosystem and the broader cryptographic landscape.

The world’s most renowned non-custodial crypto wallet provider is constantly seeking to ensure that its users have at their disposal all the tools for an experience that aligns with the market evolution and the diverse profit opportunities emerging daily.

In contrast to other competitors in the market, MetaMask has not yet launched a token.

Although rumors surfaced in the past regarding a possible launch of the MASK token, supported by an airdrop to early users of the decentralized wallet, nothing is yet known about it.

The founders of Consensys denied rumors regarding a drop of a native token last year in June 2023, but this does not preclude the possibility of its arrival in the coming months, adding a crucial element for the community’s governance.

MetaMask has indeed collected a substantial amount of fees in recent years and has secured VC funding to the tune of 715 million dollars, so the company has all the cards on the table to execute a very interesting airdrop.

Even though the launch of a native MetaMask token remains a distant dream, we can still attempt to perform some on-chain interactions to potentially become eligible and enjoy a rich reward, should it actually arrive.

Qualifying is simple: use all the products listed in the MetaMask Portfolio section at least 2-3 times in different months, which include the functions of “buy,” “sell,” “swap,” “stake,” “bridge,” and “send & receive.”

It is also worth noting that the MetaMask wallet added support for Bitcoin last month for the first time, following similar moves by other providers like Phantom. Using internal interoperability services to exchange Bitcoin from EVM environments will be crucial to positioning oneself for a possible airdrop.

Naturally, the latest innovation of “Pooled Staking” will also need to be embraced by users who want to position themselves as loyal users of the Ethereum ecosystem, simultaneously demonstrating their dedication to the Consensys-led infrastructures.

However, all possible interactions with MetaMask come with higher commission costs compared to other similar services, as the wallet serves solely as an intermediary between users and decentralized applications