If you have been in the cryptocurrency space, then you must have heard that staking is one of the easiest ways to make money with cryptocurrency.
While staking, you don’t need to give yourself much stress. All you have to do is commit your crypto assets to support a blockchain network and confirm transactions, and you will be paid in return.
If you want to give staking a try and are looking for the best staking platforms, then you are at the right place because in this article, I am going to walk you through a comparison between the top best staking platforms.
The best staking platforms give you access to higher market options, lower account size, and most importantly, charge you less on transactions.
We have contacted different investors with experience in staking and have tried some of the staking platforms and the data we gathered was used in our ranking of the top 5 best staking platforms.
Without further ado, let’s get in.
Table of Contents
What is Staking And How Does It Work?
Staking is the process of acquiring cryptocurrency and setting it aside for it to be used to validate blockchain transactions in other to earn a reward.
Here is how staking works
Unlike in mining, where miners of cryptocurrency solve complex mathematical puzzles in order to get a new block created or validate an old one, staking is done in such a way that participants put their cryptocurrency holdings down in exchange for a reward when a new block is validated.
These coins are used by the platform to verify transactions in the network, and chances are that they will not be successful. Once this validation is not successful, the stakes are lost, and it’s what’s called a “slashing” event.
There are several ways of participating in staking without the need to know technical limitations and requirements. We will talk more about this later in this post.
Which Cryptocurrencies Can I Stake?
Although there are many cryptocurrencies that can be staked, some of them are not.
Here’s a list of the cryptocurrencies that can be staked:
- Tezos,
- Cosmos,
- Polkadot,
- Solana
- Ethereum 2.0
- Lots more.
These coins use the proof-of-stake method to validate transactions on the blockchain technology.
What Are Different Ways To Stake Cryptocurrency?
There are many different options for you to get started staking your cryptocurrency. Depending on the amount you are willing to stake, your expertise, security, and how long you are willing to leave your staked coins on the blockchain, you can choose from this list.
Here is a summary of the top ways you can stake cryptocurrency.
- Staking with Exchange –Provide the coins you want to stake and Exchange will do it for you.
- Joining a staking pool – Forming groups to identify and validates nodes together.
- Defi – Staking using smart contract.
- Staking as a service platform – Entrust your coins to a service provider to stake for you.
1) Staking with Exchange
Staking with an exchange is one of the easiest ways to stake cryptocurrency. You don’t have to find the validating node yourself. What you do is indicate the amount of cryptocurrency you are willing to stake, and the exchange will do the rest of the job for you.
The Exchange serves as an intermediary between the staking party and the validating one.
Although staking with an exchange is one of the easiest ways to stake, there is still an issue of security. When you are staking with an exchange, you don’t actually have access to the key to your cryptocurrency holdings, and unless this exchange is a trusted one, chances are that you might lose your coins.
2) Joining a staking pool
Just like in mining, where people can come together and form mining pools, people with expertise can also form a staking pool. Members of this pool must have knowledge of the proof-of-stake network in order to be able to identify nodes and validate them.
In order to moderate the membership, some staking pools demand a membership fee and set the minimum amount that new members must stake. This prevents the pool from being more trouble than it’s worth.
3) Staking with DeFi
DeFi, the short form of Decentralized Finance, also allows investors to stake using something called “smart contracts.” A smart contract is software that executes when a predefined condition is met.
DeFi staking allows investors to earn a passive income without having to work with organizations whose motives are uncertain and possibly corrupt. DeFi staking is also less expensive because there are no middlemen to deal with.
4) Staking with a service platform
Staking with a service-platform is a way in which investors entrust the task associated with staking to a service provider. They do this in order to avoid the risks and pitfalls associated with staking. The staking provider, on the other hand, collects the coins and makes a wise investment on behalf of the investors.
This form of service removes the complexity and difficulty that investors might experience in staking, hence making them able to participate in the blockchain and handle crypocurrency as well.
Factors Considered Before Choosing Your Best Staking Platform.
Certain factors need to be considered before choosing your best staking platform. This will help you make a safe investment that will provide a profitable return.
Here is a summary of the factors that should be considered before choosing your best staking platform.
- Trust
- Fees
- Account Minimum.
- Crypto supported.
5 Best Staking Platform
When you have considered some of the aforementioned factors as they will affect your investment, then choosing the best staking platform will be very easy for you.
Having contacted some of the investors that ventured into staking, coupled with our own experience, we have figured out the top 5 best staking platforms in 2022.
Here is our summary of the 5 best staking platforms in the year 2022.
- Binance – Features locked staking and DeFi staking
- Coinbase – Good intuitive :platform
- Etoro – good overall
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Kraken – Has an exclusive feature called “off-chain” staking
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Gemini – Pay high interest on coins, Not traditional staking program.
Now, let’s run through some of the major features of the staking platform.
1. Binance.
Binance is the largest staking platform that supports multiple proof-of-stake cryptocurrencies. It features two different methods of staking, which are locked staking and Defi staking.
Locked staking is a method in which you stake your coins for a specified period of time, after which you get them back, while DeFi staking, as we mentioned earlier, is staking using a smart contract (a software that executes when a predefined condition is met).
2. Coinbase
Coinbase is another popular exchange where investors can stake their coins. Staking at Coinbase is very simple. You just move the coins you want to stake into the vault. coinbase uses Locked staking method.
One of its standout features is its intuitive environment. It also scores high when it comes to trust ratings. The only drawback to staking on Coinbase is its high staking fees.
3. Etoro
Etoro is another staking platform with an easy-to-use interface. Etoro is one of the top 3 best staking platforms, offering staking for Proof-of-Stake cryptocurrencies like Tron, Cardano, NEO, Tezos, and Ethereum 2.0.
To stake a coin with Etoro, you only need to keep it on the platform, just like with Cardano and Tron. Depending on your level of membership, you’ll earn a higher APY, with those in the “Diamond” Club keeping 90% of their earnings.
4. Kraken.
Kraken is a staking platform with an exclusive feature called “off-chain” staking. What this means is that while staking, you will be simulating the rewards you get from a real on-chain stake.
This feature is available to only some customers. One of the biggest factors that determines customers’ leverage of this feature is their location in the world. Unfortunately, people from Australia, Canada, Denmark, and Germany, to mention but a few, can’t leverage the off-chain “feature” of Kraken.
Since you’re not using the blockchain to make the stake, off-chain staking isn’t limited to proof-of-stake crypto. As a result, you can stake Bitcoin as well as fiat currencies like the dollar or euro.
5. Gemini.
Gemini is one of the best staking plartform offering a large number of proof-of-stake crypotuccurrencies as certified by NerdWallet, currenctly, Geminis has over 43 coins for which reward are available.
Although it is not a traditional staking program, its earning features pay interest on certain cryptocurrencies.
One of its standout features is its limit to liquidity. Users can request the return of their cryptocurrencies at any time (though they may wait up to five working days to receive them).
Comparison Of The Best Staking Platforms
Based on the data from research, Here is our comparison of the best staking platform
| Platform | Type | Fees | Crypto supported | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binance | DeFi Exchange | No fees | 5 DeFi and 77 other locked staking coins | Visit Site |
| Coinbase | Exchange | 25% | DAI, ETH, ADA, ALGO, Cosmos, Tezos, and others | Visit Site |
| Etoro | Exchange | 10 - 25% | Cardano, Tron, Ethereum, | Visit Site |
| Kraken | Exchange | No fee | Bitcoin, Ethereum, ADA, DOT, SOL, ATOM, XTZ, | Visit Site |
| Gemini | Exchange | No fees | You can earn GUSD, Dai⁴. and lots more | Visit Site |
How to stake cryptocurrency?
You can stake cryptocurrency by following the Four major steps outlined below:
Step1 Choose your means of staking:
When you’ve decided to start staking cryptocurrency, the first thing you’ll want to do is select your means of staking. There are certain ways you can stake your cryptocurreny. As already discussed, you have the option of exchange, deFi, staking pools, or service plartform. It’s a good idea to read through our reviews above before making your decision.
Step2 Find the cryptocurrency you would like to stake.
Depending on the exchange you have chosen (means of staking), there are different types of cryptocurrency supported by each exchange. You can look up the cryptocurrency supported by your exchange in our comparison table above.
Step3 Buy the cryptocurrency you want to stake.
Now that you have determined the cryptocurrency you want to stake, you can proceed to buy it from an exchange that offers it and transfer it to your wallet. Depending on your method of staking, you can transfer it to your exchange.
Step4 Stake your crypto through your exchange or pool.
Depending on whether you are staking with an exchange, pool, or Defi, once you have purchased your coins, the next thing to do is to transfer it to them. Each staking exchange (or any other means) has a minimum amount of deposit and it is a good idea to browse it before you make a decision.
Also, it is important to check the charges the exchange collects before making your choices. All this data is included in our comparison table above.
Which Cryptocurrency is best for staking?
As of the year 2022, the most popular coins on the proof-of-work network are Ethereum, Cardano, Tron, ADA, DOT, SOL, and others. Depending on your choice of exchange, you can always select from these top coins that are popularly offered by most exchanges. You can check out the list of coins surported for staking by different exchanges in our comparison table above.