As The Merger Approaches, Crypto Exchanges Compete To Offer Ether Staking

investopedia.com:

As Ethereum is set to execute 'The Merge' between September 10 and 20, major crypto exchanges have begun to offer users the ability to stake their Ether.Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken have all announced Ether staking services, offering incentives to attract users to the service.

After 'The Merge,' the Ethereum blockchain network will go from a proof-of-work consensus mechanism to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. The process will give birth to Ethereum 2.0, which is believed to be faster, cheaper, and more environmentally friendly. 

Binance.US will offer users passive earning with an Annual Percentage Yield (APY) of 6%, allowing users to stake their Ether in one click.Kraken has also launched the staking service, though the return varies from 4–7%.Both these exchanges note that users will not be able to unstake their staked Ether, which will only happen after the first phase of Ethereum 2.0 completes.

Meanwhile, Coinbase has announced Coinbase Wrapped Staked ETH (cbETH), which represents ETH tokens staked through Coinbase.Unlike Binance and Kraken, cbETH can be sold and traded off of the platform. It does not track the price of Ether, but represents staked ETH and the accrued interest starting from June 16, 2022. What Coinbase is offering is liquid staking, which allows users to stake funds but still have access to them.

Several Ethereum staking pools are also preparing for The Merge. The vast majority of staked Ether is accounted for by major entities. Over 30% of staked ETH is held by Lido Finance, 15% by Coinbase, 8% by Kraken, and 7% by Binance.

The ability to stake ETH was launched last year, but it barred many investors from joining because of the high barrier of entry. It required a minimum of 32 Ether to be