CoinDesk Analysis Team
CoinDesk
Binance's staked ether token, BETH, experienced a surge in deposits earlier this month that lifted the total value locked (TVL) more than fourfold to $731 million, according to DefiLlama data.
The exchange rolled out the liquid staking token in April following the Ethereum blockchain's transition to a proof-of-stake network. TVL fluctuated between $120 million and $170 million until a Sept. 1 influx of $165 million in two transactions and a single transaction of $243 million two weeks later. Aside from these two transactions inflows haven't exceeded $500,000 on a single day.
Liquid staking tokens are derivative tokens obtained by staking ether (ETH) on services like Lido, Coinbase or Binance and receiving the derivatives in exchange. Stakers can earn a yield while retaining an asset that can be used elsewhere across the decentralized finance (DeFi) market.
Etherscan data shows that the four largest holders of BETH are all Binance-controlled wallets, which may be Binance mirroring its users' transactions on-chain.
Whilst BETH remains relatively small in terms of TVL compared with the likes of Lido staked ether, with $14 billion, and Coinbase's $2 billion, the irregular inflows suggest that one entity or trader is putting its faith in Binance despite the regulatory uncertainty surrounding the crypto exchange.
Lido currently offers a 3.6% APY on staked ether, significantly more than BETH's 3.25%. The incentive to stake on Binance as opposed to a decentralized offering like Lido remains unclear.
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