29.03.2024

Coinbase Will Now Reward Users for Holding This Cryptocurrency

Tezos uses an alternative consensus mechanism to proof-of-work mining – a system built into the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, bitcoin. Called proof-of-stake, the alternative mechanism rewards network users for holding onto its coins and thereby helping protect the network.

Coinbase is for the first time allowing general users to earn rewards by simply holding cryptocurrency, starting with the Tezos (XTZ) token.

In a company blog Wednesday, Coinbase said U.S. customers (bar residents of Hawaii and New York) can now stake the smart contract platform’s crypto with an estimated five percent annual return.

Coinbase’s five percent estimate is based on Tezo’s last 90 days of staking returns. The firm also notes that there’s an initial holding period of 35–40 days, after which stakers will start to see rewards appear in their accounts every three days.

The exchange has also added Tezos to Coinbase Earn, a program aimed to educate the public about crypto, and will give out XTZ to participants completing tasks.

Coinbase soft-launched staking for both Tezos and decentralized finance token Maker (MKR) this March on Coinbase Custody.

As Coinbase wrote at the time, Coinbase Custody primarily serves institutional clients holding large amounts of crypto. This latest initiative brings staking to even the smallest of Tezos holdings, however.

Coinbase, Fidelity and More Back Coin Metrics in $6M Series A Funding Round

Cryptocurrency data provider Coin Metrics has raised $6 million in a Series A funding round, with participation from Fidelity Investments and Coinbase Ventures.

Led by Highland Capital Partners, Coin Metrics announced Thursday the round had also received placements from Communitas Capital, Avon Ventures, Raptor Group, Digital Currency Group (DCG), Castle Island Ventures and Collaborative Fund.

Based in Boston, Coin Metrics said the funding will help expand its offerings and team. The company, which provides analytics on open-source blockchain data for institutional clients, said it had also earmarked funding for improving data sets.

Established in 1988, Highland Capital Partners is an early-stage investment fund with a portfolio of 271 companies, and has long had a focus on tech, being a backer for the dot.com era search engine Ask Jeeves. It participated in Coin Metrics’ $1.9 million seed round in 2019.

Sean Judge, principal at Highland Capital, said it was imperative the quality of data in crypto improve now that traditional investors are entering the digital asset space.

“Financial institutions require clean and transparent data to make decisions. These same requirements exist for bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptoassets that have emerged over the last decade,» he said. «It’s become clear that Coin Metrics is the premier destination for network and market data.»

Coin Metrics CEO Tim Rice said the fact his company already follows strict due diligence processes – to comply with requirements set by its clients – meant his company is in the best possible position to cater to an increasingly institutional space.

The company was founded in 2017 by Rice, Castle Island’s Nic Carter and Aleksei Nokhrin.

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