Staking is much more than 'making money by letting your crypto sit'.
In reality, rewards vary, evolve, and depend on several factors.
But then... how do you know if you are earning what you should? And where to look to verify it?
Here is a clear guide to understanding and tracking your staking gains 👇
🧠 First, where do staking rewards come from?
When you stake, you participate in the security and validation of the blockchain network's transactions (like Ethereum, Cosmos, or Solana). In return, you receive rewards.
These rewards come from:
Transaction fees paid by users
From protocol inflation (new cryptos created to reward validators)
So the more efficiently your validator works, the more you are rewarded.
And if you stake via a pool or platform, you receive a share of the earnings, according to your contribution.
🔍 Why is it important to track your rewards?
Monitoring your earnings allows you to:
Check that everything is working correctly (is your validator active?)
Spot any potential technical errors
Understand how much you are actually earning, day by day
Compare different staking strategies
In short, it’s like looking at your salary after working: you want to make sure you are getting paid.
📱 What tools to use to track your rewards?
You don’t need to be a developer to track your staking rewards. There are several very easy-to-use sites and tools:
1. Beaconcha.in
For Ethereum, between the address of your validator, and you see:
If your node is active
The number of validated blocks
The rewards received day by day
2. Rated.network
A more analytical platform. You can see your efficiency, your ranking compared to other validators, and performance over several days.
3. The interface of your wallet or staking platform
If you stake via Binance or another service, you can directly check your rewards history on their dashboard or in your crypto wallet.
4. Notifications and alerts
Some tools like Grafana or Telegram bots will send you an alert if your validator becomes inactive or stops generating rewards.
🧩 How to interpret the data?
You will often come across these terms:
APR : the estimated annual percentage rate. This is what you could earn in a year if conditions remain the same.
Effective balance : the amount on which rewards are calculated. Sometimes, it is not 100% of what you deposited.
Uptime / Availability : your connection time. If your validator is often offline, you earn less.
Slashing: a penalty that can reduce your earnings if you make serious mistakes.
So, if you see your rewards dropping, you should check if your validator is online, up to date, and properly configured.
🎯 In summary
Staking is not just about depositing crypto and waiting.
It is also about tracking your performance, understanding your results, and optimizing your strategy.
Fortunately, today, tracking your rewards is simple thanks to good tools.
Whether you are a solo validator or a member of a pool, you can — and should — keep a regular eye on your earnings.
Because the more you master your staking, the more you grow your investment. 💡🚀