What Are The Basics Of Staking Crypto?

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Are you a crypto investor? Then, you might have heard about the staking concept frequently. But, what is staking crypto?

Simply put, if you are thinking of fighting against inflation or if the interest on your savings account is not giving you more, you need to look for staking cryptocurrency. It is because it is considered a great way of earning additional income. 

In cryptocurrency, the only way to earn a profit is by selling the investment during an increase in the market price. However, with staking, you can put your digital assets to work and earn passive income without even selling them. It is kind of similar to depositing cash in a high-yielding savings bank account. 

Although it is not so different from the theory of a bank, its analogy goes far. That is why we have come up with this article that will help you to learn all the basics of staking crypto. 

What Is Crypto Staking?

Staking helps you to earn additional income from your crypto holdings. It is particularly attractive to the investors that invest a significant amount of their tidal income in cryptocurrency. 

Moreover, crypto holds two crucial consensus mechanisms, name Proof of Work or PoW and Proof of Stake or PoS. These consensus mechanisms ensure that all the transactions made in crypto are legit. Once they approved the transaction, they add a new block to the blockchain. This way, the entire process runs securely. 

While the PoW mechanism uses computational power to secure networks without allowing crypto to get staked, PoS secure the transaction via validators that put the crypto asset at stake. This is where the term ‘crypto staking’ comes from. For staking their crypto to secure the network, the validators acquire rewards in return. 

How Does Staking Crypto Works?

You can stake your crypto tokens only when the crypto you own uses a proof of stake blockchain. As discussed earlier, staking locks up the asset to participate and help in maintaining a secure network. As a result, they receive rewards which are known as staking rewards. 

You can also set up a crypto wallet that provides staking. Always remember that every blockchain network traditionally involves one or two official wallet apps. And if you have token on any of these wallets, you can delegate the amount of portfolio you want to put up for staking. 

It also picks up from different staking pools to find the validators. Then, they combine the tokens with others to help you in generating blocks and receiving rewards. 

How Do You Stake Crypto?

Not all crypto holders can become validators because they need a significant value of crypto holdings and hardware infrastructure with sufficient computational power. However, it constitutes crypto staking options with some barriers to entry. These are:

Staking Pools

Staking pools options like P2P validators and Stakin offers crypto staking solutions that together pool the crypto assets from several contributors. Here, the amount of crypto required to stake is lower than the person who wants to become a validator themselves. 

Exchanges

Several crypto holders find exchanges the most accessible and effortless option for staking crypto. It is because users tend to get rewards simply for putting a significant amount of cryptos in their wallets. 

Benefits Of Staking Crypto

The benefits of staking crypto are as follows:

  • It helps you earn passive income. If you do not want to sell your crypto token lately, staking is probably the best option. 
  • You can start staking cryptocurrency immediately with just an exchange or crypto wallet. 
  • The additional benefit of staking is providing security and efficiency to the blockchain project you support. It makes the blockchain more attack resistant as well as strengthens its ability to process transactions. 

Risks Of Staking Crypto

All types of investment constitute some risks. Similarly, crypto also has some risks given below:

  • Since some coins contain a minimum lock-up period, you cannot withdraw the asset from staking. 
  • Staking pool operator has counterparty risks. If the validator does not do its job properly and gets penalized, you might miss out on rewards. 
  • Staking pool has the risk of getting hacked. It can result in a complete loss of staked funds. And just because these assets are not protected by insurance, the chances of getting compensated are little or none.

Is Staking Profitable?

Staking can prove to be profitable for investors looking for generating yields on long-term investments and who are not bothered by short-term price fluctuations. However, if investors want to get the money back in the short term before the end of the staking period, they should avoid locking them up for staking.

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