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Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, owned by the Winklevoss twins, continues to actively expand its services around the world, launching Ethereum staking for the first time in the United Kingdom.
On June 23, Gemini officially announced the expansion of Gemini Staking Pro in the UK. The service allows institutions and high net worth individuals to become Ethereum validators by locking up at least 32 ether (ETH) worth about $60,000 at the time of writing.
The company noted that the institutional ETH staking program provided by the Gemini Trust Company is immediately available on the Gemini web interface.
At launch, Gemini Staking Pro was the only betting product available in the UK. According to Gemini Support, the UK is the only country in which Gemini operates where the platform exclusively deals with institutional staking.
The Gemini Staking Pro service currently operates in the US (excluding New York), Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, Brazil and over 30 other countries.
The statement notes that Gemini staking services are not regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority.
Gemini also mentioned that the platform will reimburse stakers for “certain penalties imposed in connection with staking.”
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Referring to issues with running the validation node, the Twins cited “small bugs” that could result in fines imposed by the network and even the loss of staked tokens, known as “slashing.” The firm promised to help stakeholders avoid this issue, stating:
“At Gemini, we make it easy for you to stake. With Gemini running validation nodes, users can stake their assets with more confidence and without technical know-how.”
The news comes as Ethereum core developers plan to increase the maximum amount of Ether required to become a validator from 32 ETH to 2048 ETH, which is worth approximately $3.9 million at the time of writing. The minimum bet amount will remain at 32 ETH.
As previously reported, US cryptocurrency exchange Gemini is currently facing legal action from the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The regulator believes that Gemini violated securities regulations by offering unregistered securities under its lending platform, known as Gemini Earn. Shortly after the Securities and Exchange Commission sued, Gemini announced plans to expand in the Asia-Pacific region.