Crypto exchange Uphold has informed its users that it would stop providing staking services to American clients on April 27, 2023.
Uphold declared that it “can’t ignore the recent SEC instructions on staking” and will therefore immediately discontinuing its staking services in response to recent SEC actions to crack down on cryptocurrency-related products and businesses.
In addition to discontinuing its U.S. staking services “until there is greater legal & regulatory clarity,” Uphold said the SEC has not contacted it. User funds will be released by Uphold on March 22 and will then be “available between now and April 27, 2023.”
The “unbounding period” of each blockchain will determine when funds will be accessible. Uphold has joined the list of cryptocurrency projects that have abandoned the United States owing to regulatory uncertainties.
In December, Nexo announced a similar change, blaming “a lack of regulatory clarity.” The SEC also contacted SushiSwap, Coinbase, Justin Sun, and FTX-affiliated stars Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul, Soulja Boy, Akon, and Ne-Yo this week questioning their recent crypto-related actions.
In response to the rumored SEC crackdown, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire stated on March 23 that there “seems to be a large-scale risk-off from USD exposed to U.S. banks and U.S. regulatory risk.”
In the United States in 2023, the future of the cryptocurrency sector outside of Bitcoin remains questionable. The SEC has taken a plethora of steps since FTX’s demise to tighten the screws on businesses and individuals providing crypto, or web3, services in the United States.
But, it appears that some businesses are deciding to just close their U.S. markets until the regulatory and legal structure is more apparent, rather than taking on the SEC.
