Bitcoin
BTC$95 523.20

-1.59%

Ethereum
ETH$3 621.80

-2.23%

Tether
USDT$1.000303

-0.03%

XRP
XRP$2.35

22.03%

Solana
SOL$227.22

-4.39%

Binance Coin
BNB$639.63

-2.52%

Crypto Staking Explained And In-Depth Guide


August 2021

Crypto staking has become more of a buzzword recently in the industry, however, it isn’t exactly a new term when it comes to cryptocurrencies. The recent hype surrounding staking, proof of stake coins, and the negativity surrounding Bitcoin for its proof-of-work system has caused a seismic shift in the industry, which has prompted the likes of Ethereum to vastly outperform the top cryptocurrency.

Within this guide, we’ll explain all there is to know about crypto staking, generating rewards, and more, as well as exploring what impact staking might be having on the price of related coins by taking said coins out of the circulating supply – albeit temporarily. 

Introduction To Crypto Staking: What It Is, Why It Matters, And More

Crypto staking has become increasingly popular as decentralized finance, better known as DeFi, has grown as a sub-sector of the crypto market. The booming trend has attracted a large portion of token holders to stake crypto for various reasons. Staking can offer financial rewards, but also contribute to blockchain protocols to do things like bolster security.

The goal of this guide is to focus on the cryptocurrencies that allow staking, explain the process of staking, highlight any potential requirements and the risk of staking, and finally, we’ll look at some staking pools, staking providers, and some upcoming staking opportunities to pay attention to.

What Is Staking In Crypto?

Staking cryptocurrency typically involves locking up a portion of coins, tokens, or other digital assets in a smart contract. The coins are set aside for an important role of becoming a validator node. A validator is a critical piece of a Proof-of-Stake network that works to actively secure a network and validate transactions.

In exchange for keeping coins locked up in this manner, the validators are compensated with passive staking income. Staking income is paid out as variable interest to token holders, based on a variety of factors such as supply and demand. When the trend is hot, rates might be higher and vice versa as more market participants actively stake tokens.

As the emerging technology sector flourishes and new innovation appears, there have become several new ways to stake crypto, which include group staking, cold staking, and more. Some cryptocurrency exchanges have begun to roll out ways of staking coins on their platforms.

What Is Proof Of Stake?

Proof-of-Stake is a process where a person or entity can validate blockchain transactions depending on the total number of staked coins. The more staked tokens the individual or entity has, the more mining power they have and the more likely they are to generate block rewards.

Proof-of-Stake was created as an alternative to the Proof-of-Work mining based networks that debuted with Bitcoin and other early cryptocurrencies that are still popular today. Recently, Proof-of-Work coins have come under fire due to their related energy requirements. Proof-of-Stake is more energy efficient.

Mining Vs Staking: What Is The DIfference? Comparing PoW And PoS Protocols  

A side by side comparison table below makes the differences between the two very different types of consensus algorithms easier to see and understand. 

Proof-Of-Work (Mining) Proof-Of-Stake (Staking)
What It Is Specialized computers called miners solve complex mathematical equations Tokens are locked up with the goal of supporting and securing a network.
How It Works The miner that correctly solves the equation adds the block to the blockchain and receives the reward. Blocks are added to the blockchain by staked coins acting as validator nodes.
Rewards Miners with the most computing power produce the most hash rate and therefore are most likely to receive a reward. Validators with the most coins staked are more likely to receive a reward.
Requirements Requires specialized computers which consume a lot of energy and increases costs. Anyone can participate in staking without equipment and is more energy efficient.

How Does Staking Work?

Crypto staking works simply by locking up tokens to be used for validating transactions on the blockchain. It begins by an individual or entity purchasing a certain number of coins to stake in the network.  Staking tokens are only supported in a PoS protocol, and each protocol could have unique requirements set by the developer or creator of the project.

Staking crypto is typically easy and done with only a few clicks right from within a crypto wallet. Some types of cryptocurrency networks require a set amount of tokens staked in order to participate. Unlocking tokens from staking is usually just as easy.

The higher the amount of coins, the more transactions are assigned to that node to validate, which increases overall passive income for those with the most coins. This creates more incentive for users to participate in the network in a larger way.

Benefits Of Staking Crypto

Staking became popular in the cryptocurrency industry for a reason, and that reason is due to it making money for token holders through generating passive income. There are certainly a subset of users who are doing so simply to participate in the network consensus, but the vast majority are staking tokens in order to generate passive income. Still, there are plenty of other reasons to consider.

Generation Of Passive Income

Because we’ve already touched on passive income, we’ll start the list of benefits here. Passive income is the primary reason for considering staking crypto assets. It is the incentive users are given for locking up their tokens. Passive income can be fixed or variable depending on the protocol and the parameters set forth by the project developers. 

Staking coins allows for a secure crypto network, but without the same impact on the environment or energy requirements. 

Top Risks Of Staking Crypto

Staking crypto almost seems too good to be true, and it is one of the rare cases that isn’t so. Although the returns and passive income possible are legitimate, they do not come without any concern for safety or risk. Here are the biggest risks related to staking crypto.

The Most Popular Types Of Staking Coins On The Market Today

By far and large, Ethereum is the most popular staking coin on the market today. However, there are hundreds of coins now that offer staking in some capacity. Other popular staking tokens are Algorand (ALGO), Tezos (XTZ), and the Covesting (COV) token. The COV token offers among the most interesting crypto staking models today. By staking the COV token, users unlock the power of the utility token within the Covesting ecosystem. 

Depending on how many COV tokens are staked, standard accounts on Covesting can become Advanced, Premium, and Elite accounts which each provide a wealth of discounts and benefits.

A new way of staking cryptocurrencies is coming to the staking space that is one of the best alternatives to the current DeFi solutions available today. Because crypto staking is a popular yet confusing new way to generate passive income, there are bound to be several questions left remaining. The following FAQ is designed to clear up any last minute questions that could be lingerating about staking cryptocurrencies.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions

Is Crypto Staking Worth It?

Staking crypto is worth it for those that don’t mind their coins being locked up. In exchange they receive rewards back in crypto and are participating within the network.

Can I Lose Crypto By Staking?

It is rare to lose crypto by staking, unless there is a hack or some type of bug in the code. However, you can lose money by staking crypto if the crypto itself loses value.

Is Staking Crypto Safe?

Staking crypto isn’t entirely safe, but it is a generally safe practice for those that do their own research and are careful. However, solutions are on the way that allow much safer crypto staking and will debut in Q3 2021.

What Is “Not Staking” In Crypto?

Some tokens require a certain amount of time to mature before they can be staked. This prevents new participants from suddenly taking up too much control over a blockchain and rewards loyal users.

Top Cryptocurrencies with Price Predictions

# Crypto Prediction Accuracy CVIX Price 24h 7d Market Cap 7d price change
1 Bitcoin (BTC) BTC Bitcoin predictions 63.6% 72 $95 523.20 -1.59% -3.09% $1 890 429 694 333 BTC 7 days price change
2 Ethereum (ETH) ETH Ethereum predictions 70.4% 59 $3 621.80 -2.23% 4.19% $436 218 097 663 ETH 7 days price change
3 Tether (USDT) USDT Tether predictions 92% 1 $1.000303 -0.03% -0.06% $134 162 795 778 USDT 7 days price change
4 XRP (XRP) XRP XRP predictions 58.8% 88 $2.35 22.03% 55.33% $134 008 145 144 XRP 7 days price change
5 Solana (SOL) SOL Solana predictions 65.6% 74 $227.22 -4.39% -10.92% $107 963 781 068 SOL 7 days price change
6 Binance Coin (BNB) BNB Binance Coin predictions 81.2% 31 $639.63 -2.52% -4.93% $92 113 151 283 BNB 7 days price change
7 Dogecoin (DOGE) DOGE Dogecoin predictions 54.8% 93 $0.414433 -3.12% -4.33% $60 934 659 886 DOGE 7 days price change
8 USD Coin (USDC) USDC USD Coin predictions 93.6% 1 $0.999885 -0.02% 0% $39 953 701 426 USDC 7 days price change
9 Cardano (ADA) ADA Cardano predictions 59.2% 84 $1.098899 2.62% 3.22% $38 555 845 015 ADA 7 days price change
10 Avalanche (AVAX) AVAX Avalanche predictions 68.4% 69 $47.29 6.64% 1.29% $19 354 282 669 AVAX 7 days price change
11 TRON (TRX) TRX TRON predictions 60.4% 80 $0.206824 -0.55% -2.23% $17 849 842 228 TRX 7 days price change
12 SHIBA INU (SHIB) SHIB SHIBA INU predictions 58.4% 94 $0.000029 -2.55% 11.86% $17 234 033 938 SHIB 7 days price change
13 Toncoin (TON) TON Toncoin predictions 69.6% 62 $6.50 -4.09% 4.64% $16 548 049 282 TON 7 days price change
14 Stellar (XLM) XLM Stellar predictions 58% 89 $0.517429 1.39% -5.15% $15 561 708 340 XLM 7 days price change
15 Polkadot (DOT) DOT Polkadot predictions 59.2% 84 $8.73 -2.42% -4.66% $13 308 222 653 DOT 7 days price change

Be the first to receive Cryptocurrency Price Predictions and Forecasts daily

Get cryptocurrency price predictions, forecasts with analysis and news right to your inbox.

© 2015-2024 Crypto-Rating.com

The usage of this website constitutes acceptance of the following legal information. Any contracts of financial instruments offered to conclude bear high risks and may result in the full loss of the deposited funds. Prior to making transactions one should get acquainted with the risks to which they relate. All the information featured on the website, including information about the cryptocurrencies and bitcoin is intended solely for informational purposes, is not a means of advertising them, and doesn't imply direct instructions for investing. Crypto Rating shall not be liable for any loss, including unlimited loss of funds, which may arise directly or indirectly from the usage of this information. The editorial staff of the website does not bear any responsibility whatsoever for the content of the comments or reviews made by the site users about cryptocurrencies. The entire responsibility for the contents rests with the authors. Reprint of the materials is available only with the permission of the editorial staff.