Make Your Crypto
Make Crypto

Crypto staking is the process of depositing a cryptocurrency like ETH onto the blockchain for the purpose of supporting decentralized network operations and receiving crypto rewards in return. Think of it as an APY-earning deposit where your assets always stay under your control while providing a public good. Read more about staking here: Staking: The Easiest Way To Earn Crypto Rewards

When you stake ETH, you are helping the Ethereum blockchain run smoothly and stay decentralized. In return, you get a portion of the transaction fees and of the new ETH created with every block. These rewards are not generated by lending your ETH out or using it in investment schemes, as banks do with customers’ deposits. The staking rewards come from the technical work of the blockchain itself. Learn about the way staking works on the Ethereum Foundation site: What Is Staking

There is no minimum ETH to stake. You can choose to stake a full validator, which requires 32 ETH but also provides the highest rate of rewards, or a very small amount of ETH and still begin seeing the rewards accumulate almost immediately.

ETH is staked by depositing it to a contract on the blockchain, where it stays until you decide to withdraw it. In some cases, like with full validator staking, the ETH is locked until you withdraw, and in others, you get liquid tokens for your ETH that can be spent in other web3 applications. Staking takes just a few steps when you do it through MEW – no advanced expertise required. See our blog post for more detail: Stake ETH with MEW Portfolio

After you stake ETH, your staking rewards begin to accumulate automatically and are distributed directly to the wallet from which you staked, at regular intervals. The timing of rewards distribution depends on the specific staking provider, but no extra effort is required – it all happens right in your wallet.

Staking is a low effort and low risk way to earn passive rewards on crypto. It is much simpler than most operations with decentralized finance, doesn’t require any upkeep, and leaves you with full control of the assets even as they are earning rewards. Best of all, staking provides a public good and gives you a literal stake in the cryptocurrency space. More about the benefits and risks of staking: Understanding Staking

Cryptocurrencies are decentralized, so there is no single source of authority for verifying transactions. Instead, users from all over the world pledge their ETH to Ethereum by staking and creating validators. These validators run software that checks and compares transaction history, so they can agree on one ‘truth’ that gets added to the blockchain. The more ETH is staked, the more validators exist, and the less chance that a group of bad actors can take over control of the blockchain and cheat by adding a ‘lie’ – or a fraudulent transaction – into the ledger.

Any interaction with an evolving technology like the blockchain inherently involves risk. Very rarely, validators can incur penalties (known as slashing), and there can be delays in rewards distribution or staking withdrawals. As always, never risk more than you are prepared to lose. More about the benefits and risks of staking: Understanding Staking

Partial staking is staking without a minimum, where the provider collects the smaller stakes and maintains a validator structure. It’s called ‘partial’ because it does not require the full validator amount of 32 ETH. Partial ETH staking in MEW is powered by Coinbase.

Liquid staking issues liquid tokens in place of the staked ETH so that the staker can benefit from the use of the ETH even while it is staked. Liquid staking derivatives (LSDs) can be used in various decentralized financial applications for lending, restaking, and more. Liquid ETH staking in MEW is provided by Lido.

You can withdraw your staking rewards and your full stake at any time. Depending on the staking provider, you may need to submit a request to withdraw and wait for the ETH to become available in your wallet, but there is no lock-up period with any provider in MEW.