Introduction
Staking Ethereum is a great way to earn passive income while contributing to a blockchain network. If you're sitting on idle ETH, it can make a lot of sense to stake it and put it to good use. Below is a guide on exactly how to do that.
Step-by-step
- 1
Buy Ethereum (ETH) tokens
In order to stake Ethereum, you need to have it. To obtain Ethereum, you'll need to purchase it. You can choose from these popular exchanges.
- 2
Select a Ethereum wallet
Once you have ETH, you'll need to choose a Ethereum wallet to store your tokens. Ledger is a popular option.
- 3
Stake your ETH
Staking pools are a great option when staking ETH. It's easier and faster to get up-and-running. A staking pool is a group of validators who combine their ETH, which gives them a higher chance of validating transactions and earning rewards. You can do this through your wallet's interface.
- 4
Start earning rewards
You'll need to wait for your deposit to be confirmed by your wallet. Once it's confirmed, you'll automatically validate transactions on the Ethereum network. You'll be rewarded with ETH for these validations.
Things to consider
There are transaction and staking pool fees you need to consider. There can also be a waiting period before you start earning rewards. The staking pool will need to generate blocks, and this can take some time.
Custodial staking
The instructions above are for decentralized, non-custodial staking. We always recommend using non-custodial staking as you're in control of your keys and it's much safer.
In case you want to use a custodial staking platform, all you need to do is deposit ETH into your custodial wallet and it will automatically start earning rewards. Some platforms will require a minimum amount of time to stake your ETH tokens, while others are completely flexible.