How do I stake XTZ?

Stake your XTZ with Atomic Wallet to receive interest on your deposit! Here, we'll guide you through everything you need to know to stake your XTZ and earn rewards. 

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Getting started with staking

Staking looks pretty straightforward as a process—instead of just keeping your XTZ deposit on your balance, you're choosing to stake it and earn interest. Where does the interest come from, though? 

By delegating your XTZ to a validator of your choice, you're expressing your trust in them, which makes them more powerful on the Tezos blockchain. As validators get paid for confirming blockchain transactions, they in turn pay back to those who supported them. That's how you earn your rewards!

By staking your XTZ in Atomic Wallet, you're choosing us as your validator.

XTZ 101: the things you need to know before staking your coins

First reward In ~5 weeks
Regular rewards Every 3 days
Yearly yield 7%
  • Your XTZ will stay on your balance when staked. Tezos was the first to introduce the Liquid Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism, which means that you’re only delegating validation rights, not your coins. Thus there are no risks to XTZ staking, as your XTZ themselves never leave your address. Moreover, there’s also no need to unstake your funds, as you can still move them freely, staked or not. If you’re interested in other similar blockchains that don’t freeze your deposit for the staking period, take a look at Cardano.
  • You’re staking your address. That means you can’t choose the amount you want to delegate, you’re staking all the XTZ you currently have. If you deposit more funds to your address, they’ll get automatically added to the staking pool as well. The minimum staking amount is 1 XTZ.
  • Research your baker first. It’s crucial to choose your ‘baker’ (a.k.a. rewards provider) wisely if you’re interested in maximizing your rewards and receiving them in a timely manner. So take the time to carefully research the baker you’re interested in before delegating your coins to them. A good place to start would be referring to trusted bakers rankings, e.g. Baking Bad or MyTezosBaker. We’d also recommend following your baker on social media to address them with any questions that might arise and be the first to know about their updates.
  • You’ll receive your first rewards in about 35-40 days. When you stake your XTZ for the first time, it’ll take 35 days for the deposit to get verified and for your baker to receive first rewards for it. In 3 more days, the rewards will get unfrozen, so your baker will be able to send them over to you. After that, you should get paid every 3 days. Don’t hesitate to contact your baker in case of a delay and ask what might be causing it.
  • Rewards are paid out automatically. Bakers transfer the rewards to delegators, there is no need to claim your rewards manually. 

How to stake your XTZ via our desktop app

  1. Navigate to the Staking tab on the left sidebar and pick XTZ from the coin list;

  2. Click on the Choose baker button.
    Please note that you can only delegate your full balance to one baker. If you send more XTZ to your address, those coins will be automatically added to your staking deposit with the same baker; 

  3. Decide which baker you want to work with. You can either select one of the most popular bakers already listed in the app or choose any custom one of your liking. If you're struggling with making the decision, try browsing through some top validator rankings at Baking Bad or MyTezosBaker. Once you make your pick, hit the Stake button;

  4. Enter your password and click Confirm;
  5. Success! Your XTZ is now delegated. Click on the hash of your staking transaction for more details;

  1. Navigate to the Staking tab in the bottom panel and pick XTZ from the assets list;

  2. Hit the Stake button;

  3. Decide which baker you want to work with. You can either select one of the most popular bakers already listed in the app or choose any custom one of your liking. Once you make your pick, tap the Stake button;

  4. Once you've picked a validator, tap Stake;

  5. Enter your password to confirm the transaction; 

  6. Voila! Your XTZ is now staked. Coming right up: all the details on when to expect your first rewards to arrive.

XTZ staking rewards

After your rewards get credited to your baker, they stay frozen for 5 more cycles (i.e. around 14 days). Some bakers choose to wait for the rewards to become liquid before transferring them over to their delegators, and some pay in advance from their own funds. So, you'll receive your first rewards in about 23 to 37 days after staking your XTZ. 

The exact timing depends on the payout model preferred by your baker. You'll have to wait for up to 40 days if your baker chooses to distribute the rewards once they become liquid, and up to 23 days in case they're fine with making payouts in advance.

If you haven't seen your rewards credited to your account for quite a while, you may want to check your payout schedule. Here's how to do that:

  1. Go to the Wallet tab, pick XTZ from the coin list, and hit the Receive button. Copy your XTZ address.
  2. Look up your address here at Baking Bad.

  3. Here's your payout schedule. Browse through it to find your most recent reward, which should have a green checkmark next to it. The counter right to the top of it will tell you when your next reward should arrive. 

How to unstake your XTZ

With Tezos, there's no need to unstake your deposit, as you're always free to move your coins around, staked or not. If you still want your deposit to stop accumulating rewards (e.g. for tax purposes), the only way to achieve that would be to create a new wallet and transfer your coins there.

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