So exchanges can stake the coins safely then? No reason for them not to give them to us now when coins are stored there:)
They ought to be able to. However, I don't think they'd want to part with all of it back to the owners
Maybe they could provide different levels of incentives (like commission free trading) if you support them with 'xyz' coin and with 'x' amount of coins you reach tier level '#' and receive '>insert benefit<'.
But as someone pointed out we'd have to worry about the potential for exchange mining pools to essentially centralize the mining.
But I think the solution there is in the product. If a coin can provide stability and a legitimate marketplace for goods and services, then the demand for it to actually be used by people transacting peer to peer, then it would greatly diminish the speculators stronghold on 98% of all the coins in existence. Crypto is still in it's infancy. It will stay that way until we can provide the necessary tools to take out the middlemen once and for all and complete Satoshi's dream. I think once that happens the fear of centralized mining pools controlling a coin supply will no longer be an issue as traders will also be competing against 'actual users' on the exchanges.