What is On-chain staking?
On-chain staking utilizes blockchain Proof-of-Stake protocol to generate rewards through a process typically called “staking”. Benefits of On-chain staking on Kraken versus staking on other platforms:
✓ Start earning rewards instantly — no waiting or bonding periods
✓ One of the highest returns in the industry
✓ Stake your assets in just three clicks from your Kraken balances
✓ Instant un-staking when using Flexible terms
Rewards (annual percentage rate)
All rewards that have been earned via staking are counted and will appear in the total rewards column on the Earn page. Please note that this is not an amount of accrued rewards as these have either been added to your Staked amount, or in the case of ETH, deposited into your Spot Wallet already. This is informational only.
Staking payouts happen once per week and the timing will differ per person. There may be variance in payout timing due to platform upgrades, but reward amounts will be accurate to the period accrued.
Rewards will only be added if the reward is greater than the smallest decimal precision.
Currency | Flexible Staking annual percentage rate (APR) | Bonded Staking annual percentage rate (APR) |
|---|---|---|
1%-4% | N/A | |
2%-5% | N/A | |
3-6% | 9-12% | |
6%-10% | 14%-19% | |
1%-3% | 2%-5% | |
N/A | 3%-6% | |
0.1%-2% | N/A | |
2%-6% | 7%-12% | |
3%-6% | 6%-11% | |
9%-13% | 19%-24% | |
7%-12% | N/A | |
1%-3% | 3%-6% | |
7%-11% | 14%-20% | |
6%-10% | 13%-18% | |
1%-3% | 3%-6% | |
3%-5% | 8%-10% | |
7%-10% | 14%-20% | |
4%-6% | 8%-13% | |
1%-4% | 4%-6% |
*Rates are estimates and are subject to change in compliance with Kraken’s terms of service. Assets subject to a bonding period do not accrue rewards during the period after you elect to unstake and before the unbonding period ends.
**As of the Shapella upgrade rewards will be issued to your account as unstaked ETH, fully unlocked and able to stake, trade or withdraw in your account. Kraken will continue to distribute weekly rewards on a variable rate that reflects what we’ve earned On-chain minus our fee. Rewards will vary according to the rules of the Ethereum protocol. ETH staking rewards are not auto-compounded and will be added to your spot balance.
Am I eligible for On-chain staking?
Geographical restrictions can be found here. If On-chain staking is not showing as an option on your account, you may not be eligible.
Assets eligible for On-chain staking
Currently we offer On-chain staking for Algorand (ALGO), Cardano (ADA), Celestia (TIA), Cosmos (ATOM), Dymension (DYM), Ethereum (ETH), Flare (FLR), Flow (FLOW), Kava (KAVA), Kusama (KSM), Polygon (MATIC), Mina (MINA), Polkadot (DOT), Sei (SEI), Solana (SOL), Secret (SCRT), Tezos (XTZ), The Graph (GRT) and Tron (TRX).
When you are logged in to your Kraken account and navigate to the Earn section at the top of the page. We have plans to introduce On-chain staking for other assets in the near future — such as Dash (DASH).
Follow our blog for announcements.
Fees
There are currently no transaction fees for staking or unstaking. Kraken takes a commission based on the rewards you receive from the network.
The APR rates shown above are an estimate of the rewards you could earn on the assets you hold, before our commission, and are based on the average staking rewards accrued over the past period. In cases where we are subject to a validator commission, the APR rates shown are after such commissions. Commissions for bonded staking, and for flexible staking on assets with no unbonding period, are based on current balances staked per asset.
For example, if you stake 5,000 ETH, which earns 250 ETH in network rewards, Kraken will retain a commission of 12% of the rewards earned (30 ETH).
Commissions per asset are outlined in the table below:
Kraken Commission | 20% | 16% | 12% | 10% | 8% | 6% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0-70K | 70-350K | 350K-2M | 2-10M | 10-40M | 40M+ | |
0-500 | 500-5K | 5-25K | 25-75K | 75-150K | 150K+ | |
0-400K | 400K-1.25M | 1.25-5M | 5-25M | 25-100M | 100M+ | |
0-40K | 40-200K | 200-800K | 800K-3M | 3-10M | 10M+ | |
0-15K | 15-75K | 75-375K | 375K-1.6M | 1.6-8M | 15M+ | |
0-40K | 40-200K | 200-800K | 800K-3M | 3-10M | 10M+ |
Kraken Commission | 26% | 22% | 16% | 14% | 12% | 10% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0-4K | 4-20K | 20-80K | 80-300K | 300K-1M | 1M+ | |
0-8K | 8-40K | 40-200K | 200-800K | 800-2M | 2M+ | |
0-16K | 16-80K | 80-400K | 400K-1.6M | 1.6-4M | 4M+ | |
Flow (FLOW) | 0-100K | 100-500K | 500K-2.5M | 2.5-10M | 10-25M | 25M+ |
0-30K | 30-150K | 150-750K | 750K-3M | 3-7.5M | 7.5M+ | |
0-3K | 3-15K | 15-75K | 75-300K | 300-750K | 750K+ | |
0-90K | 90-450K | 450K-2.25M | 2.25-9M | 9-22.5M | 22.5M+ | |
0-35K | 35-175K | 175-875K | 875K-3.5M | 3.5-8.75M | 8.75M+ | |
0-60K | 60-250K | 250K-1M | 1-5M | 5-20M | 20M+ | |
0-4K | 4-20K | 20-100K | 100-400K | 400K-1M | 1M+ | |
0-175K | 175-875K | 875K-4.375M | 4.375-17.5M | 17.5-43.75M | 43.75M+ | |
0-200K | 200K-1M | 1-4M | 4-20M | 20-100M | 100M+ |
For flexible staking on assets with an unbonding period, rewards are generated by staking a portion of your eligible assets on-chain, Kraken keeps the remainder unstaked for liquidity purposes. You will receive network rewards on up to 50% of your staked assets. Commissions for flexible staking are 20%.For additional information, please refer to our Terms of Service.
Bonded staking option
In addition to the standard Flexible staking option, Kraken offers Bonded terms when staking certain assets, such as DOT and ATOM. Staking rewards will be paid out to your staking balance each payout interval. If you choose Bonded term staking, your assets will be subject to a wait time after you unstake them. The wait time (known as the unbonding period) can last 3- 28 days, depending on the asset.
ETH is subject to a bonding period when Staking is initiated in addition to it's unstaking period
Currency | Unbonding period | Bonded Staking annual percentage rate (APR) |
|---|---|---|
21 days | 9-12% | |
21 days | 14%-19% | |
21 days | 2%-5% | |
Ethereum (ETH) | Variable (Bonding & Unbonding) | 3%-6% |
Flow (FLOW) | 14 days | 7%-12% |
21 days | 6%-11% | |
7 days | 19%-24% | |
3 days | 3%-6% | |
28 days | 14%-20% | |
21 days | 12%-17% | |
21 days | 3%-6% | |
3 days | 8%-10% | |
10 days | 14%-20% | |
28 days | 8%-13% | |
14 days | 4%-6% |
*Rates above are estimates and are subject to change in compliance with Kraken’s terms of service. Assets subject to a bonding period do not accrue rewards during the period after you elect to unstake and before the unbonding period ends.
**Bonded and flexible staking is not available if you are a resident or a citizen of a prohibited location, including the United States.
Balance hold and impact on equity for margin trading
While your assets are staked via our On-chain staking service, they are not available for trading and cannot be pushed to your external (non-Kraken) account. If you choose Flexible staking, you can instantly un-stake assets at any time for any amount.
Staking also impacts your equity for margin trading, when the asset staked is a collateral currency and will be removed from your trading and equity balances while staked. Your equity balances affect your free margin and margin level for margin trading.
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The decimal and thousands separators shown in this article may differ from the formats displayed on our trading platforms. Review our article on how we use points and commas for more information...