You may have heard that you can 'earn crypto by staking', but what exactly is it?
Here is a clear and simple explanation đ
đ§Ÿ What is staking?
Staking is the act of locking (or 'putting at stake') a certain amount of cryptocurrency to participate in the security of a blockchain (like Ethereum, Solana, or Cardano).
âĄïž In exchange, you can receive rewards (often in crypto as well).
A bit like interest, but beware: this is not a guaranteed investment.
đ Why lock up your cryptos?
On certain blockchains (like Ethereum), there are no miners.
It is the validators who verify transactions.
To become a validator, you need to 'stake' cryptos.
The more you put in, the more chances you have of being chosen to validate a block... and receive a reward.
But you don't need to manage this yourself: you can stake via a platform (Binance, Kraken, etc.) or through a staking pool.
âïž Concrete example (simplified):
Let's imagine you own 100 ABC tokens.
âĄïž You 'stake' them for 30 days via a platform.
âĄïž During this time, they are used to validate blocks.
âĄïž In the end, you get back your 100 tokens + a reward of 2 tokens (i.e., 2%).
đĄ But beware:
Your funds may be locked for a certain time âł
Rewards are never guaranteed
You must trust the platform
â The advantages
âïž No need for a powerful computer
âïž You help secure the network
âïž You can receive rewards in return
â ïž The risks
â No guarantee of returns
â Your capital may be temporarily locked
â If the validator you support cheats or fails, you may lose a part of your stake (slashing)
đ§ In summary
Staking is like becoming a co-actor of the blockchain,
by putting your cryptos to work, without having to mine.
But it's still a decision to be made with full knowledge of the facts.
This is not a magic investment, and it's not without risk.
đŹ Do you want to know how a staking pool works?
Or which cryptos are often used for this?
Say it in the comments đ
#crypto #stacking #Write2Earn #blockchains