The Luxembourg-based exchange said that all other services will remain unaffected. Bitstamp says it's shutting down its staking service in the U.S. as of September 25 due to the regulatory environment in the country. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been on a warpath against staking, saying it meets the criteria of investment contracts under the Howey Test. In February, Kraken agreed to shut down its U.S. cryptocurrency-staking operations to settle SEC charges over offering unregistered securities, following a closed-door meeting, CoinDesk reported at the time.