Why Stake?
- Earn rewards: Get staking rewards on the assets you hold
- Support the network: Help keep the blockchain secure and reliable
- Stay engaged: Participate more actively in the ecosystem you believe in
Getting Started
To start staking, you first need to hold the staking token for the chain you want to stake on. This is usually the main native token of the chain, which is also used for fees.
If you want to check which token is used for staking, the quickest way is to visit the chain’s page. For example, on Cosmos Hub you’ll see that the staking token is ATOM.
Click Deposit to copy your address and transfer some ATOM to it. Once your account is funded, you can start staking ATOM on Cosmos Hub.
How to Stake (Step by Step)
The Stake button is placed in multiple spots so it’s always easy to access:
- In the main sidebar
- Inside the Available Balance section on the Home screen
- Within the Staking tab on Home
- On each chain’s individual page
Click any Stake button to begin the staking process.
On the first screen of the staking modal, you will see:
- Recommended Chains: Chains are suggested based on which stakable asset you hold with the highest fiat value balance
- Available Balance of the stakable token for each chain
- Staking Balance (Staked + Unstaking in progress) for each chain
- Staking APR for each chain
Review the details carefully and choose the chain you want to start staking on.
In this example, let’s select Cosmos Hub.
Once you select a chain, the staking modal will display the validators currently included in the chain’s active set.
There are several factors you may want to consider when choosing a validator:
- Expected APR: Slightly varies depending on each validator’s commission rate
- Uptime: How reliably the validator stays online
- Ecosystem contribution: The validator’s involvement in building and supporting the ecosystem
- Governance participation: Their track record in voting on proposals
- Reputation and transparency
- Self-bonded stake: The amount the validator has staked with their own funds
Keep in mind that if too many stakers delegate only to the largest validators, it can harm decentralization and even weaken the network’s security.
Before you stake, there is one important thing to know: each chain has an unstaking period (also called the unbonding period). You can check the unbonding period for each chain either by selecting the chain in the staking modal or by visiting each chain’s page on Keplr Dashboard.
During this period, once you choose to unstake, your tokens will be locked and you will not be able to transfer or use them until the unbonding period ends. The length of this period depends on the chain. For Cosmos Hub, the unstaking period is 21 days.
Depending on the chain, you may also be able to cancel your unstaking during the unbonding period. This feature is chain-specific, so we recommend checking the details for the chain you are staking on.
Ready to stake? Choose your validator and hit Stake to get started.
After selecting a validator, you can enter the amount of tokens you want to stake.
One thing to note: if you stake by pressing Max, you may not have enough tokens left to pay transaction fees when claiming rewards or unstaking later.
If you are fine with topping up your wallet again through a deposit, you can go ahead and use Max. But if you want to avoid the hassle, it is better to leave a small amount of tokens available for fees.
After entering the amount and clicking Stake, a transaction signature popup will appear in your Keplr Extension. Approve it and wait for the transaction to complete.
Once your staking transaction is complete, you can view it on the chain’s page in Keplr Dashboard.
You can also visit the Staking tab on the Dashboard home to manage all your staked assets across chains in one place.
