How to Stake Akash (AKT)

Akash Network is a decentralized cloud marketplace where tenants purchase cloud-grade compute in an open market from providers in a permissionless manner. The network is maintained by a network of validators and governed by AKT stakers. To get a first impression of Akash, visit our Akash profile on Stakingrewards.com.

Now let’s see how you can stake your Akash token and what requirements you need for this!

Step 1 – Buying Akash on Osmosis

You can find out essential info on the AKT token and also information on where to buy it on the AKT token page. You have the option to obtain AKT from Kucoin, Kraken, Osmosis and Crypto.com. Above this you will see a visual guide to buying AKT on Osmosis using the Keplr Wallet.

1. Head to Osmosis
2. Change the trading pair to ATOM-AKT (this is if you are trading ATOM to AKT but if you have another token that is supported on Osmosis you can do that as well)
3. Note to execute the trade you will have to deposit some ATOM into Osmosis which can be done from the asset tab in the platform and features a small fee
4. Osmosis offers a gas-free trade and so once you click on swap you just have to confirm the transaction in the Keplr pop-up and the swap will go through

Step 2 – Withdrawing Akash from Osmosis to your Keplr Wallet

Although Osmosis is gas-free in terms of swaps, there is a fee you have to pay in the form of the osmosis token when withdrawing tokens from the platform into your wallet.

1. Head to the assets tab in Osmosis
2. Scroll down till you see the AKT token
3. Click withdraw and approve the transaction
4. You should now have the AKT token sitting in the AKASH network section of your Keplr Wallet
   

Step 3 – Selecting your Akash validator from the Keplr Dashboard

When selecting your Akash validators there are a few considerations that you should be taking into account. 1. the commission of the validator – this is the fee that the validator takes out of your rewards for the “hosting” service they provide. While there are validators with 0 fees, this isn’t always a good thing as some validators use this to attract delegators and then raise their commission later on, in practice we would suggest sticking to reputable names and commission being a secondary factor to sort between those. While we suggest going with reputable names, to enable the decentralization of the network, it is ideal to delegate to validators that don’t hold a large percentage of the network’s voting power. You can get an accurate depiction of this by checking out the Akash staking info page we have built, which has % network share and commissions on every validator. Lets quickly run over the information found in this table below:

The Reward column outlines a validator-specific return rate that already takes into account their commission. This provides a holistic way to compare how much you would make between different validators. The user’s section outlines how many delegators have chosen to go with this validator and allows you to get a more standardized view of how many network users make up the voting power of that validator. In a quick summary, here are the main points you need to consider:

1. Akash has 100 active validators so, in order to move towards decentralization amongst validators, we suggest aiming to delegate to a validator with a 5% share and below
2. We suggest looking for a validator with a 5% commission or lower while being careful of validators with 0% commissions
3. With each validator you consider, do a quick background check on their socials and even their involvement in other chains can help you come to a decision on their reliability. This info can be gathered by checking out their validator profile by clicking on their name in the validator info table on our website

To make it easier for you to chose the right validator we introduced the Verified Provider Program. You can recognize our Verified Providers by the blue check arrow behind their name. These validators have been reviewed for their reliability and performance and can be recommended by us.

Step 4 – Staking your Akash with your chosen validator

For the purpose of this tutorial we have chosen to go with the Omniflix Akash Validator who has a 2% network voting power share and a 3% commission. They are also involved in Comdex, Osmosis and Sentinal Validating. Now although I have personally chosen to go with Omniflix, Staking Rewards strongly suggests each checks the validator they choose to delegate their tokens to before taking any action as slashing can lead to a loss of tokens.

Voilà you have successfully staked your Akash tokens and are diligently earning staking rewards!