ICON Forge: What is Staking?
*stabs vampire through heart*
No, not that kind of staking ⚰ we’re talking about the kind where you get to support amazing projects and earn money.
Staking is simple. Staking is easy. Staking is rewarding.
Let’s break it down…
What does staking mean?
Staking is taking money you already have and putting it into an account to earn more from it. Plain and simple, that’s why a majority of people care about it. Think of it as an interest-earning account in your bank.
Bank: “Your money is in your checking account currently and earns nothing extra (plus you’re spending it!).
Would you like to move it into our 2% APY account instead?”
Taking motionless money and using it in a way that benefits both you and the blockchain. That’s staking.
Why does staking exist?
Staking is what happens on a Proof of Stake blockchain. Unlike Bitcoin’s Proof of Work method, which requires gargantuan amounts of computation power and energy, Proof of Stake works efficiently to securely validate blocks of information in their respective blockchains.
(don’t know how blocks and block validation work on a blockchain? That’s okay! You can still benefit from staking, so read on!)
- You lock up some coins (your stake)
- Staking protocols choose a stake to use as a validator for the next block
- A reward is given to the stake holder who was selected
The more coins you have staked, the more you’re rewarded! More importantly for the blockchain — liquidity and validation are greatly improved.
How much can I earn?
That depends on where and what you’re staking. Some coins, like Cardano (ADA), offer an estimated 4.28% annually for staked funds.
We use ICON (ICX), proudly giving back an average of 12.2% annually to its stake holders.
Wherever you’re staking funds, it’s worth noting the minimum timeframe the stake is required and if there are fees for moving your funds in or out of staking. Your staked funds are still liable to the fluctuating value of the coin that you’re holding.
On ICON, the average fee for moving funds into staking is around $0.0001 and the minimum period of staking is 8 days. Easy.
Using your money to change the world.
We’re not trying to get too fluffy on you here, but the truth is the truth. Your staking can make an even bigger difference than simply earning you some extra cash.
Imagine Kickstarter, where amazing ideas come to gain support, get some funding, and reward their contributors.
Staking your funds with ICON means that you choose projects, known as P-reps, to support. This “Voting” makes one heck of a difference. Amazing projects, like the ICX_Station Bridge, will receive grant money from your staked votes that help them develop world-changing applications, products, and more.
Are you ready to earn up to 12.2% and stake some coinage? Tap here for step-by-step instructions on how you can do more with ICON.
Icon Forge is a proud P-Rep and is currently producing the blockchain-based game Project Nebula.
