Staking – the practice of providing one’s tokens to help operate and secure a network, usually in exchange for rewards – is rapidly becoming a substantial ecosystem of its own as the number and market capitalization of cryptocurrencies using a “proof of stake” (PoS) consensus mechanism to verify transactions continues to grow (in contrast to electricity-intensive “proof of work” chains like Bitcoin). Staked / Kraken’s State of Staking Q2 report cataloged a number of impressive growth stats. While proof of stake’s share of the total crypto market cap increased only 2% quarter over quarter to 23%: The value of staked assets rose 61% to $68 billion Market cap of the…