Is it tho? A MetaMask wallet staking directly with the protocols/ yield aggregators is easier than creating a kraken account and doing KYC verification.
self custody vs. centralized exchange data would be relevant here. Instead of just saying “people don’t do it”. Because people do… and I would venture to say more people do it than keep their coins on a centralized exchange.
That may indeed be "easier", but self-custody requires a high level of confidence in your own ability to set things up properly and securely. And equally high confidence that your machine and wallet won't be compromised. I'd also say that getting to that point is difficult, unless someone is willing to play around with a test-net and not learning with their real balance.
There's definitely an appeal when it comes to having an exchange manage this all for you, even when they take a fee for doing so.
This may come off as… impractical… but I don’t understand why.
The best way to obtain coins without going through KYC is by using the protocols. The most cost effective is running a filecoin node but there are thousands of ways of getting coins by participating in the ecosystem.
It's not easier at all which is why people don't do it....