, Binance’s staked ether token, BETH, had a spike in deposits earlier this month that increased the total value locked (TVL) by more than fourfold to $731 million.
The liquid staking token was introduced by the exchange in April, after the Ethereum blockchain switched to a proof-of-stake network. Up until an influx of $165 million in two transactions on September 1 and a single sale of $243 million two weeks later, TVL hovered between $120 million and $170 million. With the exception of these two purchases, no single day’s inflows have topped $500,000.
The derivative tokens known as liquid staking tokens are acquired by staking ether (ETH) on platforms like Lido, Coinbase, or Binance and receiving the derivatives in return. In the decentralised finance (DeFi) market, stockholders can obtain a yield while keeping an asset that can be utilised in further transactions.
According to Etherscan, all four of the top BETH holders are wallets under Binance’s control, suggesting that Binance may be replicating its users’ on-chain transactions.
The irregular inflows indicate that one institution or trader is placing its faith in Binance despite the regulatory concerns surrounding the cryptocurrency exchange, even though BETH remains relatively modest in terms of TVL compared to the likes of Lido staked ether, with $14 billion, and Coinbase’s $2 billion.
Presently, Lido pays a substantially higher annual percentage yield (APY) on staked ether than BETH (3.25%). Uncertainty surrounds the incentive to stake on Binance as opposed to a decentralised offering like Lido.