Maker (MKR) Surges 50% In 10 Days Amidst Idle Market

Coinbase’s cold storage custody service for institutions-Coinbase Custody, officially announced its activation of staking support for Tezos (XTZ) yesterday, March 29^th and we are reading more about it in the latest blockchain news below.

This is the first launch for the company and its crypto ecosystem which paves the way for the future where other crypto custody companies such s Fidelity Digital Assets and BitGo can go forward with the staking services offerings.

Staking is actually a mechanism which is also known as the Tezos jargon ‘’baking’’ and it was initially available for XTZ holders only through the community-run bakers. By entering on the market, Coinbase becomes the first crypto enterprise that has a XTZ baking option.

Analysts believe that this move was inevitable after the US crypto exchange giant had hired Luke Youngblood recently, who is the architect of Tezos’s liquid proof-of-stake system. In the announcement, Coinbase underlines that Tezos’s design has a unique system that is perfectly made for the exchange’s custody operations:

 “The Tezos design was thoughtful from the start about protecting delegated funds. The result is that we can keep client assets in segregated cold storage, where they’re never subject to more risk than non-DPOS assets (e.g., BTC). Coinbase Custody’s customers’ staked assets are always protected by insurance policies underwritten by some of the largest insurance providers in the world.”

The custody arm of the exchange also pointed out that it was going towards its own validators and staking nodes in its client’s name. The co-founder of Tezos, Kathleen Breitman, said that by embracing this important step, Coinbase improves the entire ecosystem:

 “The launch of Tezos staking through Coinbase Custody serves an acute need that existed up until now: a way for institutional participants who rely on a secure, offline custodian to take an active role in the network. Achieving our mission of creating a ‘digital commonwealth’ means facilitating participation for all, and that includes the institutional customers that Coinbase Custody brings to the space.”

Coinbase Custody declared that it will launch governance support for MKR as well by the end of the second quarter of 2019. This is also a major step forward for the Maker ecosystem since the MKR holders didn’t have the chance to participate in the governance of the MKR votes.