GMX is a decentralised spot and perpetual exchange that supports low swap fees and zero price impact trades. Trading is supported by a unique multi-asset pool that earns liquidity providers fees from market making, swap fees and leverage trading. GMX basically lets users put on Long, or Short orders with leverage up to 30x to take advantage of price volatility and earn profits. This tutorial will show you where you can buy $GMX and how to stake your tokens on the GMX protocol. 

      Key points:

      Step 1: Make sure you have a MetaMask wallet

      MetaMask is one of the most popular self-custody wallets and offers users the ability to stake their tokens, use blockchain apps and manage multiple tokens in one wallet. You can download the MetaMask wallet here.

      Step 2: Get yourself some $GMX tokens

      Currently, you can purchase $GMX tokens on major centralised exchanges or using the Uniswap Dex.

      To get $GMX tokens using Uniswap, navigate to Uniswap Dex and connect your Metamask wallet. Connect to the Arbitrum network, we will be using $ETH to swap to $GMX. 

      • Select ‘ETH’ in the ‘from’ tab
      • Select ‘GMX’ in the ‘to’ tab
        • If you don’t see GMX there, you will need to import the contract address 
        • The contract address is 0xfc5a1a6eb076a2c7ad06ed22c90d7e710e35ad0a
      • Click ‘Confirm Swap’ 
      • Approve the transaction on MetaMask
      • The $GMX will reflect in your MetaMask wallet

      Remember that you will pay gas fees in ETH, so leave some ETH for that. Great! Now you have $GMX tokens and can go to the staking portal to delegate your stake.

      Step 3: Go to the $GMX staking portal

      Go to the GMX staking portal and connect your Metamask wallet. If you are unsure of how to choose a validator, please see the section below this one to help you decide. 

      • Connect your wallet
      • Click ‘Stake’
      • Enter the amount you wish to stake
      • Click “Approve GMX”
      • Approve the transaction
      • Success!

      Keep track of your rewards in the ‘Total Rewards’ block on the right hand side of the page.

      Where do my staking rewards come from? 

      Staked GMX receives three types of rewards:

      1. Fees from trading: 30% of platform fees (swap fees, fees of opening and closing positions, and borrowing fees) are paid to Arbitrum stakers in ETH.
      2. Escrowed GMX (esGMX): esGMX tokens can be converted into GMX over a 12-month period or be re-staked to earn rewards in a way similar to GMX. The emission of esGMX has no maximum limit but is always backed by the maximum GMX supply.
      3. Multiplier Points (MP): MP boosts your fee rewards which is released to GMX stakers every second linearly at a fixed 100% APR. MP can also be re-staked via compounding.

      For more info on Escrowed GMX and Multiplier Points, please see the Rewards page.

      How can Escrowed GMX be used?

      Escrowed GMX (esGMX) can be used in two ways:

      • Staked for rewards similar to regular GMX tokens
      • Vested to become actual GMX tokens over a period of one year

      Each staked Escrowed GMX token will earn the same amount of Escrowed GMX and ETH / AVAX rewards as a regular GMX token.

      Note that Escrowed GMX (esGMX) is not meant to be transferable unless you are doing a full account transfer. Please do not buy esGMX off the market or OTC as you will not be able to vest them.

      What are Multiplier Points?

      Multiplier Points reward long term holders without inflation. When you stake GMX, you receive Multiplier Points every second at a fixed rate of 100% APR. If you had to stake 1000 GMX for one year, you would earn 1000 Multiplier Points. 

      Multiplier points can be staked for fee rewards by pressing the “Compound” button on the Earn page, each multiplier point will boost ETH / AVAX APRs at the same rate as a regular GMX token.

      Conclusion

      Staking on GMX is a great way to earn ‘real yield’ on your crypto, it is one of the hottest protocols on the market right now and is becoming a Staking Rewards favorite. If you haven’t already, check out the GMX Asset page for more insights into staking GMX, happy staking!

      About The Author

      Kilian Boshoff

      is purpose-driven, he loves researching and figuring out how technology can drive change in the world we live in. He is an avid crypto trader and spends his free time deep-diving into different projects on his YouTube channel. Kilian is currently on a mission to pioneer the institutional adoption of digital assets in his home country, South Africa.