What is crypto staking?
If you're looking for a new and exciting way to make money from cryptocurrencies, then you should definitely consider staking coins. Staking is a process that allows you to earn rewards by holding coins in a wallet. In this blog post, we will explain what crypto staking is and how you can get started. We will also discuss the benefits of staking coins and some of the best wallets for doing it. Finally, we will give you some tips on how to maximize your profits from staking!
What is Staking?
Staking is the process of holding funds in a cryptocurrency wallet to support the operations of a blockchain network. Stakers receive rewards for their contributions in the form of newly minted coins or transaction fees. Often the amount of reward depends on the size of the stake and the length of time it is held. Staking is a popular way to earn passive income from cryptocurrencies, as it requires little effort beyond purchasing and holding the coins. For example, Ethereum 2.0 stakers can earn an annual percentage yield (APY) of around 5%.
Risk of Staking
While staking can be profitable, it is important to remember that there are risks involved. The value of staked coins can go down as well as up, and it is possible to lose money if you sell your coins at a loss. There is also a risk that the blockchain network will be attacked, which could lead to a loss of funds. Therefore, it is important to do your research and only stake coins that you are comfortable holding for the long term.
Ways to Stake
There are many different ways to stake. Straight from your wallet, on an exchange or by interacting with a DeFi platform. Let's dive in.
Wallet Staking
Trust Wallet
Trust Wallet offers to stake in native tokens for each chain, for doing this you have to go to your wallet and select the option discover and then press the token you want to stake. Also, you can stake by pressing the token shown in your wallet and press the option Stake, and then it will show the conditions, you chose stake and then select the validator in which you would like to stake. The options for staking usually have a lock time.
Atomic Wallet
The atomic wallet has a cool user interface for staking, pretty friendly. You go to the token and then select stake and will show the options where you chose the lock period, the validator and the amount.
Exchange Staking
Binance Staking
Binance offers two types of staking, Simple Earn and DeFi Staking. Simple Earn provides daily rewards on a flexible or locked period. If you choose a locked period, you will get a higher yield. Their DeFi Staking product is there way of interacting with DeFi platforms on your behalf. Think of them as the middleman doing all of the heavy lifting for you.
FTX
FTX options for staking are reduced to a low number of tokens as options, normally you can stake FTT, SOL, SRM, and RAY in a lock period.
Kraken
Kraken offers a large number of different tokens for staking, only by lock period to. You don't earn rewards by block, they pay you twice a week proportional to the amount you have staked.
DeFi Staking
Lido
Lido Finance offers the option to stake in native token for each network, in exchange they give you a replacement token usually named with the initials "st"+*TOKEN TICKR* (i.e. st + ETH = stETH). You get paid in the staking token, so the balance of your stTOKEN will be your initial deposit + rewards. You can exchange the stTOKEN in any liquidity pool or by simply withdrawing your stake, if it is allowed and not locked (this of course could incur into fees/penalities). For example, in ETH you are given stETH and get rewards in stETH. This stETH you can exchange it in liquidity pools like Curve Finance.
Stakewise
Stakewise has a similar staking procedure as Lido, they give you a replacing token which you hold in the representation of your staking participation.
What should I be staking?
Some of the most popular coins to stake right now include Ethereum, Tezos, Cardano, and Cosmos. These coins all offer good returns and have strong communities behind them. However, it is important to remember that staking profits are not guaranteed, and you could end up losing money if you don't carefully manage your stake.
There are several ways to maximize your profits from staking coins. One way is to choose a coin with a high APY. Another way is to choose a coin that has low transaction fees so that you can keep more of your rewards. You can also maximize your profits by reinvesting your rewards into additional stakes. Finally, you can minimize your costs by using a Wallet that doesn't charge any fees for staking or withdrawing funds.
How else can I make gains in crypto?
Yes! There are many other ways to make money from cryptocurrencies. For example, you could trade cryptocurrencies on an exchange or participate in Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). You could also mine cryptocurrencies or provide goods or services in exchange for payments in cryptocurrency. Or, you could simply hold onto your cryptocurrencies and hope that they increase in value over time!
