Gemini has launched Ethereum staking services for institutions and high-net-worth individuals in the United Kingdom. The move comes as the US-based cryptocurrency exchange has been aggressively expanding its services globally amid increasing regulatory hostility in the US.

Gemini to Allow UK Investors to Become ETH Validators

In a Thursday blog post, Gemini announced that it had expanded the Gemini Staking Pro services to the UK, allowing institutions and high-net-worth individuals to become Ethereum validators by locking up at least 32 Ether. Gemini Trust Company provides the ETH staking program. Gemini detailed that its staking service is already available in more than 30 countries.

Staking involves locking up a specific amount of ETH (usually a minimum of 32 ETH) as collateral for participation in the network’s proof-of-stake consensus algorithm. In exchange for staking, validators receive a portion of the transaction fees and newly minted ETH as rewards.

It is worth noting that users need some technical knowledge to participate in ETH staking. When staking, a token holder delegates their stake to a single validator. However, setting up a personal Ethereum node requires technical skills and knowledge.

“At Gemini, we simplify the staking process for you,” the platform said in the announcement. It even claimed that Gemini would reimburse stakers for “certain penalties imposed in connection with staking.”

ETH Staking Takes Off With Over 20M ETH Now Staked

Ethereum has reached another milestone with over 23.1 million ETH staked, representing a sharp increase in staking adoption, according to a dashboard from Dune Analytics. With ETH currently trading around the $1,879 mark, the stash of staked ETH is now worth more than $43 billion.

Although validators have had the opportunity to stake ETH for some time, growth only surged following the Shapella upgrade, which enabled withdrawals. There has been a net inflow of 3.8 million staked ETH ($6.9 billion) following the Shanghai upgrade, indicating that interest in Ethereum remains at an all-time high.

For context, there were only 8.2 million staked ETH equitable to roughly $15 billion when ETH reached its all-time high of $4,400 in November 2021. That figure now stands at more than 23.1 million, a growth of roughly 200% over the past two years.

The total circulating supply of ETH stands at 120.2 million, with 19.4% of all ETH being staked on-chain. Furthermore, there are currently 724,077 validators who are responsible for processing transactions and adding new blocks to the blockchain.

Gemini Expands Outside the US Amid Increasing Regulatory Scrutiny

Earlier this week, Gemini said it plans to expand into the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region to capture the “next wave of growth for crypto.” The platform detailed that it aims to bring in more than 100 new employees to expand its current team in Singapore and establish an engineering division in India.

“We are excited to announce our expansion plans in APAC as Gemini’s leadership team recently visited the region on their global odyssey to propel the promise of crypto,” the company said, adding that “APAC will be a great driver of the next wave of growth for crypto and Gemini.”

Gemini’s renewed focus on other markets comes as the platform has been under increasing regulatory scrutiny in the US. The SEC brought charges against Gemini over its Earn Program in January, alleging that the exchange provided an “unregistered offer and sale of securities to retail investors through” the program.

Nevertheless, ETH is trading at $1,878, largely flat over the past day. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap is up around 12% over the past week and more than 57% YTD.

This article originally appeared on The Tokenist

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