Crypto broker Uphold relaunches staking in the UK

Cryptocurrency trading platform Uphold has restarted staking services in the United Kingdom following local regulatory developments.

Uphold has relaunched staking in the UK in compliance with a UK Treasury amendment that came into force on Jan. 31, the company said in an announcement shared with Cointelegraph on Monday, Feb. 2.

The relaunch comes a year after Uphold notified its users that it will no longer be offering staking in the UK and the European Union, reportedly citing new regulations.

“We stopped offering staking services to UK customers previously because it was a legal gray area,” Uphold CEO Simon McLoughlin told Cointelegraph.

UK Treasury softened staking-related laws in January

Uphold’s staking return in the UK comes amid recent financial policy changes related to the offering of crypto staking services in the country.

On Jan. 8, the UK Treasury amended a section of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) related to collective investment schemes or investments, enabling multiple investors to pool their funds.

The Treasury specifically ordered that “arrangements for qualifying crypto asset staking do not amount to a collective investment scheme.”

Collective investments — such as stocks, bonds and exchange-traded funds — are subject to heavier regulatory scrutiny due to their complicated nature.

By removing crypto staking from arrangements related to collective investments, the Treasury has given platforms like Uphold the green light to relaunch its staking services, according to the Uphold CEO.

Related: Kraken restores staking services in US after 2-year hiatus

“The amendment that came into force on Jan. 31 provides welcome certainty and clears the way for regulated crypto service providers to offer staking services to UK customers,” McLoughlin noted.

Uphold plans staking relaunches in Europe and the US by June 2025

As Uphold resumes crypto staking in the UK, the services remain unavailable in many parts of the world, including in the US and Europe.

“We expect to open in both jurisdictions in the first half of this year,” McLoughlin said.

In addition to Europe and the US, Uphold doesn’t offer staking in Canada, Japan, Venezuela, Singapore and “other jurisdictions in which Uphold does not generally make its services available,” according to a Uphold Support page.

“Staking is a foundational activity in many blockchains, and it’s encouraging to witness regulators now making it possible for ordinary people to earn rewards for participating in this new technology,” McLoughlin said.

He also expressed optimism over future regulatory developments for staking:

“With a crypto-friendly administration in the US, 2025 looks like a year we could see great progress. All these regulatory developments point to the same destination — a world where financial assets stored and managed on blockchains become mainstream activities.”

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