What is Avalanche?
Avalanche is a blockchain platform that aims to facilitate high-performance, low-cost financial applications. It empowers users to establish custom token and digital asset ecosystems, allowing for secure and economical transactions. The goal of Avalanche is to create an open, powerful, and secure platform for finance applications. In contrast to other networks, fees on Avalanche are not directed to validators but rather are burned, This increases the scarcity of AVAX which is counterbalanced by minting process, to assure the longevity of the network. The token that powers the Avalanche network is AVAX and it is exclusively used for trading, staking, delegating, paying transaction fees, and governance votes on the network. This tutorial will show you how to stake your AVAX tokens on the Avalanche network.
TL;DR
- View the current AVAX staking APR here
- Use the AVAX Staking Calculator to estimate your rewards
- Lockup: 14-365 days
- Average commission rate: 5.86% on earned rewards
- Minimum amount required for staking: 25 AVAX
- Estimated time needed to stake your AVAX in your wallet: 5 minutes
- Recommended AVAX staking wallets: Ledger, Avalanche Wallet
- Steps to stake:
- Go to the Avalanche Wallet and create/enter your wallet
- Transfer tokens from X Chain to P Chain
- Select validators
- Enter the amount of stake
- Confirm and happy staking 🤘
Prerequisites
Where to buy AVAX
You can get AVAX tokens at a cryptocurrency exchange, at a DEX, or within select wallets. You should always do your own research when selecting a reputable cryptocurrency exchange. For best security, it is not recommended to leave your tokens on an exchange, but transfer them to your non-custodial or cold/hardware wallet after procuring them.
Avalanche wallets
Avalanche has a variety of non-custodial wallets for you to choose from. We recommend that you use a hardware wallet such as Ledger otherwise we suggest using Avalanche Wallet. Compatible wallets include:
How to connect Avalanche (AVAX) to Avalanche Wallet
When setting up your Avalanche Wallet, it will automatically create an AVAX account for you.
Selecting Avalanche validators
Please refer to the FAQ section titled ‘How do I choose Avalanche validators’ on the Avalanche asset page when selecting Avalanche validators. Also, you may want to utilize our criteria for verifying providers through the Staking Rewards Verified Staking Provider (VSP) Program.
How Staking Rewards for Avalanche (AVAX) are Generated
Learn how rewards are generated in the FAQ section titled ‘How are the rewards generated’’ here.
How to stake Avalanche (AVAX)
Step 1: Make sure you have an Avalanche Wallet
Stake your AVAX tokens using Ledger, Avalanche Wallet, Metamask Wallet, amongst others. We will use the Avalanche Wallet in this staking tutorial.
As a popular wallet in the Avalanche ecosystem, Avalanche Wallet offers users the ability to stake tokens, access blockchain apps, and manage multiple tokens in one wallet. Simply connect your Ledger to Avalanche Wallet or use Avalanche Wallet directly to stake AVAX. Create a new wallet or access your existing Avalanche Wallet here to deposit your tokens into this wallet before continuing onto step 2.
Step 2: Go to the Avalanche wallet and transfer AVAX tokens from X Chain to P Chain (if applicable to your case)
After entering your wallet, start staking and select validators. We recommend choosing validators that are verified via the Verified Staking Provider (VSP) Program. You will find the verified validators with a blue tick next to it on the Avalanche profile page. If you are unsure of how to choose a validator, please see the FAQ section named ‘Selecting Avalanche validators’ above to help you decide.
- Connect/enter your wallet.
- Assuming you already have >25 AVAX tokens on X Chain (if you transfer the tokens from Binance), click on ‘Cross Chain’ to transfer the tokens to P Chain.
- Enter the amount of tokens you would like to transfer to P Chain for staking.
- Leave some tokens to pay for gas fees later.
- Click ‘CONFIRM’ and ‘TRANSFER’ to finalize the transfer.
Step 3: Go to Avalanche staking portal and choose a validator
- After your tokens are transferred to P Chain, click on ‘Earn’
- Click on ‘ADD DELEGATOR’
- If you are unsure of how to choose a validator, go to the Avalanche profile page and select a validator that has a blue tick next to it, copy the delegation address.
- Come back to the staking portal, paste the validator’s delegation address in the search bar, and then click on ‘Select’
Step 4: Finalize the transaction
Now you will need to enter the amount of tokens you would like to delegate to this validator. The staking period is set for a month by default and you can always lengthen the period by clicking on the date.
- If you agree, click on ‘Confirm’.
- You will see the staking period, estimated rewards, and staking fees. If you agree, click on ‘Submit’ to complete the transaction in your wallet.
Make sure you do NOT stake your full available balance. We recommend you to leave at least 0.5 AVAX for gas fees. This cost will vary depending on the network activity on Avalanche network.
Congratulations! You have now staked your AVAX tokens and will start earning those juicy staking rewards.
Step 5: Track staking portfolio
- Track your AVAX staking rewards on the staking dashboard shown above.
- Monitor governance discussions on Avalanche forum that may impact the staking mechanism.
- Track the current and historical reward rates, validator count, number of unique AVAX staking wallets, and staking ratio of the Avalanche network by visiting the Avalanche asset page. To make better staking decisions, it’s essential to understand these relevant data points. To learn how these data points could impact your staking rewards, please read more in the FAQ sections named “How do I choose Avalanche validators” and “How are the rewards generated” on the Avalanche profile page.
Step 6: How to Unstake AVAX
To unstake your AVAX tokens, follow the steps below:
- On the ‘Earn’ page, select your stake and click on ‘Undelegate’.
- Confirm the amount of tokens you would like to unstake.
- Finalize the transaction in your wallet.
Maximizing Staked Avalanche (AVAX)
Now that you have staked your AVAX, you have 3 options which can be used to change your position. These options appear on the Avalanche Wallet’s Staking Portal. The options are:
- Stake more
- Restake reward
- Unstake and claim reward
Stake more
You can stake more AVAX tokens by following the steps above, staking tokens to either the same validator or any other validators.
Restake reward
AVAX staking rewards accrue on a consistent schedule, typically every few minutes. These rewards can be collected at any time once the stake period has ended. You can check your current rewards by clicking on ‘VIEW REWARDS’ on the Earn page.
At the moment, Avalanche does not offer an automatic compounding option for staking AVAX. To optimize your strategy, you can utilize our Staking Calculator to determine the best re-stake frequency for your specific amount of AVAX.
Unstake and claim reward
To receive your staking reward, you need to undelegate your stake by following the instructions under Step 6 shown above.
Conclusion
Staking is essential to Proof-of-Stake blockchains and comes with many benefits for investors and the network:
- Investors earn yield from token emissions and/or transaction fees.
- Stakers become eligible for airdrops as many networks prioritize granting these benefits to them.
- Staking helps to secure the network
- Staking from multiple participants helps decentralize the network
- Stakers can participate in governance, as many PoS networks allocate governance rights based on the amount of tokens staked.
Congratulations! You are now not only getting the most out of your investment with compounded returns. YOU are also (in-)directly contributing to the decentralization, and the network security of Avalanche and thus contributing to the long-term success of your investment! Avalanche needs active stakers like you to become successful long-term. Now share the tutorial with your friends so they can get to start staking as well!
Lastly, don’t forget to check out the Avalanche asset page for more insights into staking SOL, and drop us a message if you found this tutorial useful. Happy staking!