CHENNAI: Crypto exchange Kraken agreed to shut down its US cryptocurrency staking service and pay $30 million in penalties to settle US Securities and Exchange Commission charges that it failed to register the program, the agency has said, in a move that could cause headaches for platforms with similar offerings.

The settlement marks the SEC’s first crackdown on staking, a common service offered at both centralised and decentralised crypto exchanges, including most of the major exchanges in the US such as Coinbase and Binance US.