Kraken Launches Bitcoin "Staking" Service Based on the Babylon Protocol

On June 20th, as per The Block, Kraken has initiated a Bitcoin "Staking" service and integrated the DeFi protocol Babylon. Users are able to directly stake their BTC through Kraken to provide support to PoS networks and obtain rewards, with a maximum annualized yield of 1%. This mechanism does not involve cross-chain bridges, wrapping, or lending. The BTC remains on the Bitcoin mainnet and is safeguarded by the Taproot time lock mechanism to ensure the security of users' self-custodied assets. Rewards are dispensed in the native Babylon token, BABY. This feature is currently accessible only to users in the United States (excluding California, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Washington state, and Wisconsin), the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates. Kraken declared that this initiative can transform idle Bitcoin into the economic security foundation of PoS networks and is the first mainstream exchange-supported BTC staking reward scheme that does not necessitate wrapping or lending. Kraken's Co-CEO, Arjun Sethi, stated: "Bitcoin has long been regarded as an un-stakeable asset, not because the concept was flawed but due to a lack of infrastructure. The emergence of protocols like Babylon has opened up a Bitcoin yield path without sacrificing asset control."