Coinone said on Friday it has rolled out what it calls Korea’s first Bitcoin staking service, letting users earn rewards while still keeping full access to their coins.
The product uses the Babylon protocol to let people stake bitcoin without locking it away, and participants receive BABY tokens as rewards. Coinone is also running a short promotion to mark the launch and is pitching the service as a way to earn passive income while holding BTC.
How the staking works?
The new offering asks users to delegate BTC to the Babylon protocol, a chain that supports staking for networks that want extra security. Users get BABY tokens in return.
Coinone says customers can deposit, withdraw or trade their BTC at any time while taking part in the program. That means coins are not trapped in long lockup periods.
A promotional push
To promote the launch, Coinone opened a special event that runs through September 7. Users must register with an event code, agree to the terms, and buy at least 100,000 won of Bitcoin to join.
That is about $72, and the top 10 buyers by volume will share 2,000,000 won in BTC rewards. All other eligible participants will split an extra 8,000,000 won pool.
CEO comments
Coinone chief executive Lee Seong-hyun said the company sees long-term bitcoin holding as a growing trend worldwide. He said the firm wants to offer a secure way to hold BTC that also pays a return. He added that the product aims to give users more options while keeping safety in mind.
Bitcoin itself does not use proof of stake, so staking is not a native Bitcoin function. Services like Coinone use external protocols to let BTC act on networks that do support staking.
That approach can let holders earn reward tokens without converting their coins or locking them up. For users who want yield while keeping flexibility, this product offers a middle path.
Regulatory backdrop
The launch comes as regulators in South Korea move to curb risky crypto lending. The Financial Services Commission ordered local exchanges to halt all crypto lending until clearer rules are set.
Lending products grew quickly in July, and the platform allowed users to borrow up to 80% of their deposit value in won or digital assets. A rival offered loans worth up to four times a customer’s holdings. Regulators warned that these offers sit in a legal grey area and carry large risks.
Scale of lending and policy moves
Authorities said about 27,600 investors borrowed roughly 1.5 trillion won in the first month of one company’s lending program. That is about $1.1 billion. At the same time, the government appears to be opening up other areas of crypto activity.
Officials are easing limits on institutional trading and moving toward approval of the country’s first spot crypto ETFs. The administration is also working on a framework for won pegged stablecoins, and the Financial Services Commission plans to present a bill on that topic in October in Seoul.
Industry context
Coinone’s Bitcoin staking joins a growing set of products that let holders seek yield without selling. Exchanges worldwide have rolled out savings and staking-style services to meet demand for passive income.
The difference here is that Coinone promises instant access to assets during the staking period, which may appeal to traders and long-term holders alike.
What users should watch
Customers should read the terms and check how rewards are calculated. They should also weigh counterparty and protocol risk.
Although Coinone says BTC stays available for trading, rewards are issued in a protocol token and not in BTC itself. That means users take token price risk in addition to any platform risk.
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