Initially, crypto marketplaces focused on providing a platform for investors to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. Today, however, these marketplaces have introduced rewards programs for their investors to get extra value from their crypto holdings.
While some reward programs ask investors to “stake” their crypto tokens, which in turn help verify transactions on the blockchain network, others offer lending programs. As a part of these programs, the investors can earn interest on their digital assets by holding them in the exchange.
In case you are choosing an exchange for staking cryptocurrency, you should look for aspects such as rates of rewards, pay-out periods, easy crypto holding pull-outs, and a number of eligible crypto tokens. To help make it easier for you to choose, we have compiled a list of the best crypto-staking platforms. So let’s straight into it!
Best Crypto Staking Platform
In the list below, we will cover the 9 best platforms for staking crypto. These listed platforms are also known as incredible crypto exchanges.
1. Kraken
Kraken is one of the most renowned crypto exchanges in the space and it supports staking for 12 crypto assets along with support for unstaking. Unstaking means withdrawing your staked tokens for trading or selling.
Additionally, you earn staking rewards every week with Kraken, but it can even be twice a week, depending on the token. You can also stake the rewards to enhance your earnings.
Kraken defines this as conventional on-chain staking. But, the platform also offers off-chain staking in selected countries. Lastly, Kraken doesn’t ask for an extra fee for staking and un-staking.
2. Binance
Binance is the largest crypto exchange when it comes to trading volumes. But, what makes it the best crypto staking platform is that it supports more than 100 coins for staking. There are two staking types available on Binance: flexible and locked.
In flexible locking periods, you invest in a third-party DeFi project. This type of staking risks a breach in the smart contract and you losing all your staked coins and rewards. However, DeFi staking’s biggest advantage is that you don’t need an on-chain wallet and the bond periods can be as short as 24 hours. But, a lot of investors might find Binance complicated and that’s why they can use Trust Wallet for staking.
As the name suggests, locked staking is for a set bond period, but flexible staking allows you to withdraw any time but the staking rewards are compromised. In locked staking withdrawals are flexible as well, but all rewards are lost upon withdrawal.
Locked staking on Binance usually holds funds for at least 30 days, but some coins allow a 10 to 15-day staking period as well. These coins offer a higher annualized percentage yield.
3. BitStamp
BitStamp is one of the largest crypto exchanges in the market and it supports Ethereum and Algorand (ALGO) staking. The platform pays periodic staking rewards just for holding tokens for a specific amount of time. When you buy and hold ALGO, it is staked after 24 hours of the purchase, automatically. The yield is up to 5 percent depending on the staked amount. In addition to this, ALGO staking doesn’t have a lock-up period and you can opt out anytime.
If you wish to stake Ethereum, you have to convert all ETH into ETH2, meaning moving your ETH coins to the beacon chain. This will be ultimately a single chain once Ethereum shifts to the Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism.
Once the tokens are converted they are staked automatically and are eligible for 4.44 percent annual rewards. Just like ALGO staking, the amount of staked tokens determine the APY. The rewards are earned every month, but can only be used when the staking period is over. This means that once staked, you have to wait for the rewards until Ethereum upgrades completely.
4. MyCointainer
MyContainer is one of the best crypto staking platforms because it offers a shared master node and automatic staking service. In simple terms, master nodes have a greater stake and earn higher rewards than regular nodes on a blockchain network.
Also, you can create a personal wallet and stake it via MyContainer, meaning we use our own private keys, which is safer than normal staking. This type of staking can get technical and complicated and therefore, MyContainer has in-depth guides on this process.
The platform is quite transparent and states the fee related to staking clearly. Also, the platform allows its users to earn compound interest on the rewards.
5. Stake.Fish
Stake.Fish offers totally non-custodial staking options. The platform runs a public validator node on several crypto networks with in-depth video guides for delegation.
Stake.Fish services are similar to MyContainer services. You assign your tokens to a public validator node and they do the legwork for a small fee. Staking on this platform may not be as simple as other platforms mentioned on the list, but it is one of the most secure ways of staking from a personal crypto wallet. The only better way to stake is to run a validator node yourself, which requires a lot of technical know-how and investment. To conclude, it is one of the best platforms for staking crypto even better than some one-click solutions.
6. Coinbase
Coinbase offers an effortless staking solution for crypto users with simple staking requirements. To stake at Coinbase, you can either buy supported coins on the exchange or transfer them from an external wallet. However, staking is available to only one specific asset.
Staking on Coinbase is the easiest, but expensive as well. The platform doesn’t charge different fees for different coins like Stake.Fish, but charges 25 percent of the reward for its simplicity. The other benefit of using this platform is there is no minimum staking limit.
7. Crypto.Com
This platform offers fixed-term and flexible staking with a few taps on their mobile application. You can even stake some stablecoins on this platform. If you add a few CRO tokens to the staking pool, you can increase your rewards. This platform is quite easy to use and even beginners will find it to be an incredible crypto-staking service.
8. eToro Staking
This staking platform supports staking in Tron (TRX), Cardano (ADA), and ETH (in selected countries). If you stake ADA, you have to hold it for nine days and if you stake TRX, you have to hold it for seven days.
Your rewards on eToro depend on the club membership status. For example, Bronze members may get up to 25 percent and Platinum+ members may get up to 10 percent.
9. KuCoin
KuCoin offers soft staking and flexible staking with no hard locking period. But, if you want higher rewards, you can opt for their fixed-length staking program. KuCoin offers KuCoin Earn, which is a pioneering staking platform that helps its users boost their earnings via staking profits and POL mining rewards. Lastly, it is a reputed exchange and user-friendly staking platform.
Few Tips Before You Begin
The market is known to be volatile and if you gamble on the wrong coin, your entire portfolio can tank. Additionally, there are a lot of projects that are scams and they just exist to raise funds and then disappear with the money. Therefore, do a lot of research before choosing a project such as looking at their coin value graph movements and reading their whitepaper.
You can also pick a coin based on your risk preferences. Some investors choose a well-known coin with lower ROI just because they are risk-averse. While some are risk-takers and prefer projects with high ROI. Regardless of the risk-taking ability, always do your research before investing your money into a coin.
To Conclude:
Crypto staking is a big improvement over the energy-intensive proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism. With staking, investors can keep the environment less polluted, while earning staking rewards easily. Also, the barrier to entry on staking is reduced over the years and it is helpful to newbies who have small crypto holdings. Whether you are a newbie or a seasoned investor, the best crypto-staking platforms mentioned in our list are helpful to all who are looking to make some extra money via staking.
Crypto Staking Platform FAQs
1. What is crypto staking?
Simply put, in crypto staking, a crypto asset holder locks their coins to become a part of the transaction validating process. The coins are locked for a certain timeframe, which is known as a lockup period. It is a feasible alternative to mining cryptocurrencies, which requires a lot of computational power. Moreover, crypto staking helps a blockchain network maintain security and also helps verify transactions.
2. How does crypto staking work?
You earn rewards while your tokens are staked because the blockchain network puts it to work. Crypto tokens that allow staking use a PoS consensus mechanism, which is a way to verify transactions and secure them without an intermediary or a payment process in the middle. If you stake your crypto, you become a part of this process.
