Apart from bankruptcies, bear markets, FTX, Terra, and SBF, the term ‘staking’ created quite the buzz in the crypto-verse this year. Crypto staking grew in popularity, emerging as a prominent medium to generate passive income.
Crypto staking is a process of merely allocating certain crypto assets that would eventually aid in the verification of transactions on the underlying blockchain network. Users will eventually be allowed to earn rewards in crypto.
It should be noted that networks that employ a proof-of-stake mechanism are the only ones that can allow crypto staking.
Here’s how crypto staking works
Interested investors will have to put forth their desired crypto and the network selects validators to confirm transaction blocks. This selection process usually depends on the amount of crypto that has been pledged.
The investor’s holdings are used to confirm the information that is written into the new block. Cryptocurrencies can be used as validators since they already have data from the blockchain that has been baked in. Then, the staker receives compensation or reward from the network for enabling such holdings to be utilized as validators.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Crypto Staking
Just like every other concept in the industry, staking comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Since staking mostly employs the proof-of-stake mechanism, energy usage is quite low. Once again, unlike miners, stakers can earn rewards much more easily. While miners need specific equipment to earn rewards, validators need a regular computer.
Looking at the disadvantages of this process, security plays quite an important role. Since PoS is fairly new unlike PoW, its security capabilities are still questionable. Room for takeover is high in these networks as those who entail more tokens have the power to do so. This further paves the way for increased centralization.
Let’s dive into top-staking coins
Cardano [ADA]
This network has been a prominent choice for stakers as it thrives on one of the best proof-of-stake blockchains. The network’s native token ADA is staked and earns interest in return for validating blocks on the blockchain.
It should be noted that unlike other networks Cardano does not have a locking period. Therefore, users can re-stake or even redeem their ADA at any given point in time. ADA staking is available on Binance, eToro, Kraken as well as Crypto.com.
Ethereum [ETH]
Ethereum staking is quite popular thanks to its 5-17 percent yearly returns. Its recent transition to PoS is expected to address an array of concerns of the network. However, unlike Cardano, staking in the Ethereum network requires a minimum of 32 ETH.
In addition to this, users on this crypto network are dependent on staking providers to earn yield. Ethereum can be staked on Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, OKX, and Crypto.com among others.
Solana [SOL]
Solana has created quite a buzz this year with its massive price drop. Nevertheless, it remains a hit among stakers. SOL is a proof-of-stake coin that is simple to delegate to network validators with the chance to earn a sizable yearly yield. SOL is one of the top staking cryptocurrencies for those looking to get passive income with an APY of 5.32 percent.
The network’s fast transactions of 50,000 TPS with an average transaction cost below $0.1 has lured in many. Solana can be staked on Coinbase, Binance, Huobi, Kraken, Phantom Wallet, Ledger Nano, and Exodus wallet.
Polygon [MATIC]
Polygon’s total supply is at 10 billion tokens, and 12% of MATIC will be used to pay Polygon staking incentives. Polygon employs a network that is environmentally friendly and sustainable and doesn’t require a lot of processing resources to get a PoS consensus.
A total of $2.36 billion is staked on the Polygon network, which is maintained by over 100 worldwide validators. Polygon is one of the top staking currencies in 2022 and has distributed almost $500,000,000 in rewards from the staking pool.
Polygon’s MATIC can be staked on Binance, KuCoin, ByBit, Crypto.com, and Lido Finance.
Binance Coin [BNB]
Depending on the lock-up durations and the number of tokens staked, the amount BNB investors make via staking varies. For instance, investors may earn up to 12.99% APY by staking $5,000 worth of BNB for 120 days.
It should be noted that Binance offers a 25 percent discount on its fee for BNB token holders. Therefore, they would garner added advantages with regard to staking.
Tezos [XTZ]
Tezos uses XTZ to provide a more sustainable cryptocurrency platform, requiring less energy to run than Ethereum and Bitcoin. Delegators can currently stake XTZ to earn an APR of 5.34%. The network has a high 74% staking percentage, as per this about 3 out of 4 XTZ tokens have been staked.
Platforms like Ledger wallet, Guarda wallet as well as Binance offer Tezos staking.
Polkadot [DOT]
Last but certainly not least, Polkadot has been a popular choice for stakers. The network’s cross-chain enabling blockchain transfers of data, as well as tokens, is its selling point.
Over 1.1 billion DOT are now in circulation. It should be noted that 52% of those tokens have been staked. The network’s high yearly yields are one of the primary causes of this. Running validator nodes draws an APR of 14.83%, while network delegators receive an average APR of 14.02%.
Polkadot can be staked on Kraken, Binance, KuCoin, Bitfinex, and other platforms.