What is Tezos?
Tezos is a decentralized, self-amending blockchain protocol. It offers a secure and sustainable platform that can evolve over time without having to hard fork. Its vision is to create a secure, decentralized, and autonomous network that can handle any type of digital asset. Unlike many other blockchains, Tezos’ on-chain governance system allows stakeholders to easily propose and adopt protocol upgrades, and vote on amending the network, without risking hard forks. This self-amending model also makes it easier to implement upgrades. The token that powers the Tezos network is XTZ and it is exclusively used for trading, staking, delegating, paying transaction fees, and governance votes on the network. This tutorial will show you how to stake your XTZ tokens on the Tezos network.
TL;DR
- View the current XTZ staking APR here
- Use the XTZ Staking Calculator to estimate your rewards
- Lockup: 5 cycles (~14 days)
- Average commission rate: 9.63% on earned rewards
- Minimum amount required for delegating: >0 XTZ
- Estimated time needed to stake your XTZ in your wallet: 2 minutes
- Recommended XTZ staking wallets: Ledger, Atomex
- Steps to stake:
- Go to the XTZ Staking Portal and connect your wallet
- Select validators
- Confirm and happy staking 🤘
Prerequisites
Where to buy XTZ
You can get XTZ tokens at a cryptocurrency exchange, at a DEX, or within select wallets. You should always do your own research when selecting a reputable cryptocurrency exchange. For best security, it is not recommended to leave your tokens on an exchange, but transfer them to your non-custodial or cold/hardware wallet after procuring them.
Tezos wallets
Tezos has a variety of non-custodial wallets for you to choose from. We recommend that you use a hardware wallet such as Ledger otherwise we suggest using Atomex wallet. Compatible wallets include:
How to connect Tezos (XTZ) to Atomex
When setting up your Atomex wallet, it will automatically create a Tezos account for you.
How to bridge Tezos (XTZ) to Atomex
Download the Atomex wallet here. After you create and enter your Atomex wallet, you can search XTZ in the search bar. Click on Tezos, copy the address so that you can receive XTZ in this wallet.
Important things to note
We’ve showed the mnemonic phrase for teaching in this tutorial. In reality, do NOT show any one your mnemonic phrases! Store them well as you can use them to restore your wallet.
Selecting Tezos validators
Please refer to the FAQ section titled ‘How do I choose Tezos validators’ on this page when selecting Tezos validators. Also, you may want to utilize our criteria for verifying providers through the Staking Rewards Verified Staking Provider (VSP) Program.
How Staking Rewards for Tezos (XTZ) are Generated
Learn how rewards are generated in the FAQ section titled ‘How are the rewards generated’’ here.
How to stake Tezos (XTZ)
Step 1: Make sure you have a Tezos wallet
Stake your XTZ tokens using Ledger, Atomex, Trust wallet, Temple wallet, amongst others. We will use the Atomex wallet in this staking tutorial.
As a popular wallet in the Tezos ecosystem, Atomex offers users the ability to stake tokens, access blockchain apps, and manage multiple tokens in one wallet. Simply use Atomex wallet directly to stake XTZ. To do so, you need to download Atomex here. Deposit your tokens into this wallet before continuing onto step 2.
Step 2: Go to the XTZ staking portal and choose a validator
After entering your wallet, start staking and select validators. We recommend choosing validators from our Verified Provider Program (VPP). VPP validators have a blue tick on their logo here. If you are unsure of how to choose a validator, please see the FAQ section named ‘Selecting Teezos validators’ above this one to help you decide.
- On the staking dashboard, click on ‘Delegations’
- Click on the ‘…’ button on the right side of your delegation address, then press ‘Delegate’
- Now you need to choose a validator to delegate to. If you are unsure of how to choose a validator, go to Tezos profile page and select a validator that has a blue tick next to it, copy the delegation address
- Come back to the staking portal, paste the validator’s delegation address in the search bar
- Press ‘Next’
Step 3: Finalize the transaction
Now you just need to press ‘Confirm Delegation’ to approve the transaction.
Make sure you do NOT stake your full available balance and leave at least 0.1 XTZ in your wallet for gas fees. This cost will vary depending on the network activity on Tezos network.
Congratulations! You have now staked your XTZ tokens and will start earning those juicy staking rewards.
Step 4: Track staking portfolio
- Track your XTZ staking rewards on the staking dashboard.
- Monitor governance proposals on Tezos network that may impact the staking mechanism.
- Track the current and historical reward rates, validator count, number of unique XTZ staking wallets, and staking ratio of the Tezos network by visiting the Tezos asset page. To make better staking decisions, it’s essential to understand these relevant data points. To learn how these data points could impact your staking rewards, please read more in the FAQ sections named “How do I choose Tezos validators” and “How are the rewards generated” on the Tezos asset page.
Step 5: How to Unstake XTZ
To unstake your XTZ tokens, follow the steps below:
- Click on ‘Delegations’
- Click on ‘…’ on the left and then ‘Undelegate’
- Confirm the transaction
Maximizing Staked Tezos (XTZ)
Now that you have staked your XTZ, you have X options which can be used to change your position. These options appear on the XTZ Staking Portal. The options are:
- Stake more
- Redelgate to another validator
- Claim reward and undelegate
Stake more
You can stake more XTZ tokens by repeating Steps 2 and 3 above.
Redelgate to another validator
You can also redelgate your current stake to another validator by clicking on ‘Delegations’, then the ‘…’ button on the right hand side of your current stake, and then click on ‘Change Validator’.
Claim reward and undelegate
Rewards are accumulated automatically. You can unstake your XTZ tokens at any time by clicking on the ‘…’ button on the right hand side of your current stake, and then click on ‘Undelegate’.
Conclusion
Staking is essential to Proof-of-Stake blockchains and comes with many benefits for investors and the network:
- Investors earn yield from token emissions and/or transaction fees.
- Stakers become eligible for airdrops as many networks prioritize granting these benefits to them.
- Staking helps to secure the network
- Staking from multiple participants helps decentralize the network
- Stakers can participate in governance, as many PoS networks allocate governance rights based on the amount of tokens staked.
Congratulations! You are now not only getting the most out of your investment with compounded returns. YOU are also (in-)directly contributing to the decentralization, and the network security of Tezos and thus contributing to the long-term success of your investment! Tezos needs active stakers like you to become successful long-term.
Now share the tutorial with your friends so they can get to start staking as well!
Lastly, don’t forget to check out the Tezos asset page for more insights into staking XTZ (ticker name), and drop us a message if you found this tutorial useful. Happy staking!