US Staking Crackdown Seen as ‘Gift’ for Decentralized Services

Decentralized finance apps such as Lido, Rocket Pool and StakeWise may benefit from the US Securities & Exchange Commission’s crackdown on crypto staking services — if they avoid a similar clampdown.

The US-based exchange Kraken agreed Thursday to pay $30 million to settle SEC allegations that its crypto staking products broke rules. The platform will discontinue the products in the US as part of the agreement with the regulator. The SEC alleged that Kraken’s staking service was an illegal sale of securities.

Decentralized finance, or DeFi, apps let people trade, lend and borrow without intermediaries and often anonymously through the ...