Users of crypto exchange Binance can now stake dai and kava as the exchange’s decentralized finance (DeFi) staking platform goes live.
Binance’s DeFi staking program was first announced Wednesday with dai, the stablecoin generated by loans on MakerDAO. The Binance initiative aims to tap into this year’s booming DeFi market by offering the ability for users earn staking rewards (akin to interest) on select digital assets.
On Thursday, Binance added kava as the second asset to its staking product. Kava is a DeFi platform backed by Binance, Huobi and OKEx with a native token by the same name.
In a statement to CoinDesk, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said:
“Our users have been requesting Binance.com giving them access to DeFi. Binance prioritizes user experience and in the spirit of the community, Binance.com now offers direct integration into these DeFi products allowing the products’ value to flow out to Binance.com users and that’s happening with KAVA and BNB to name a few.”
The move means Kava users no longer need to interface with the Kava app but instead can go directly through Binance’s DeFi staking portal.
Kava’s CEO and co-founder, Brian Kerr, said today’s DeFi market would not resemble tomorrow’s, claiming the sector is just at the “tip of the iceberg” in terms of adoption.
Staking in DeFi means users can participate, utilizing smart contracts, on various issues via voting in a proof-of-stake model as well as earning passive rewards by locking up their crypto.
One of India’s largest exchanges and a subsidiary of Binance, WarzirX, recently announced it was developing a DeFi product known as an automated market maker in collaboration with Matic.