Staking

Certain blockchains achieve the consensus mechanism through proof-of-stake, locking assets with validator nodes. When validators stake, they earn rewards. The more coins or tokens the validators hold, the more incentive they have to behave justly. Staking also works as a method to quell inflation, as validators are rewarded to lock assets rather than mine them.

You can stake select assets from your BitGo wallets with a white-label validator, earning you an annual percentage rate (APR) or annual percentage yield (APY). Staking protocols differ by asset, offering different APRs and limitations. To help ensure network stability, some blockchains implement unbonding periods, locking assets for a period of time after unstaking them. The unbonding period differs by asset.

There are currently 3 different staking models:

  • Liquid Staking - When you stake, your assets aren't locked, enabling you to withdraw them from the validator wallet at any time. With liquid staking, you're rewarded based on a snapshot of your balance at certain time intervals.
  • Locked Staking - When you stake, your assets are locked in your wallet. With locked staking, you're rewarded when you unbound.
  • Staked Account - When you stake, your assets leave your wallet and go into a staked-account wallet that's accessible only with your private keys. With a staked account, you're rewards deposit into the staked-account wallet.