The Bybit crypto exchange has started a new web3 staking pool, enabling users to leverage its ethereum (ETH) staking options in time for the Shanghai upgrade.
In a March 31 statement, shared with crypto.news, Bybit said it had developed a new staking product that simplifies interacting with decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.
Previously, users needed to complete eleven steps to add liquidity to Curve Finance. Per Bybit, the new product will reduce the process to three steps.
The crypto exchange also claimed that the new product could improve the annual percentage rate (APR) of ETH staking by as much as 6.5%.
Moreover, Bybit says that its customers will not have to buy ETH to access the web3 staking pool as they can use BTC, USD Coin (USDC), and Tether (USDT).
According to Bybit’s co-founder and CEO, Ben Zhou, the company plans to roll out the new ETH staking option to coincide with Ethereum’s Shanghai upgrade.
“The highly liquid and trading-integrated ETH staking pool will be rolling out around the time of Ethereum’s Shanghai upgrade [and] will open up many new opportunities for our users.”
Ben Zhou, Bybit co-founder and CEO.
Shanghai upgrade to improve staked ETH usability
The Shanghai upgrade is a planned hard fork slated to occur by April 12, 2023. It will implement EIP-4895, allowing validators to withdraw ETH staked on the Beacon Chain from December 2020.
The Beacon Chain is Ethereum’s proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus layer that was launched in parallel to the original proof-of-work (PoW) execution layer of the Ethereum mainnet.
The Shanghai upgrade comes only months after the Merge, which combined the two layers, making Ethereum fully proof-of-stake and reducing its energy consumption by at least 99.5%.
Ethereum developers also expect the upgrade to improve the liquidity and usability of staked ETH (stETH), which accounts for about 14% of all ETH or 16 million tokens.
In addition to the ETH staking pool, Bybit said it would host two Shanghai upgrade-themed trading events in April. The first event, dubbed “Shanghai Upgrade Trading Bash,” will be for Bybit’s derivatives traders, and they’ll have the opportunity to win part of a 450,000 USDC prize pool.
The second event, known as the “Supreme Scorer 2023,” will be open to all Bybit users, and they will have a chance to share in an 80,000 USDC bonus pool.
