No, Proof of Stake (PoS) staking and lending are two very different activities. In PoS staking, the owner of the relevant cryptocurrency pledges their tokens to a validator for the purpose of validating transactions on the network or dApp associated with the token, but never forfeits the right to dispose of these assets. In turn, the owner is rewarded for contributing to the governance process.

Rewards are set by each crypto network and your weekly payout is determined taking into account:

• The rewards accrued in the crypto network of your staked assets from Thursday 00h00 UTC to Wednesday 23h59 UTC
• The amount of time that you've had your assets staked from Thursday 00h00 UTC to Wednesday 23h59 UTC
• The commission that Uphold charges on each asset being staked

Uphold gets a commission between 20% - 25%  depending on the asset being staked. In order to ensure full transparency to our users, the estimated APY rate takes our commission into account. For more information, please refer to our Uphold Staking Terms & Conditions.

Rewards will be credited to your staking account weekly, every Thursday.

Your staking accounts, balances and rewards-to-date can all be tracked in your portfolio page. 

In order to stake assets, you must have your identity verified and reside in a location where staking is allowed. Staking services are not currently available in Canada, Japan, Singapore, or in other jurisdictions in which Uphold does not generally make its services available. For more information - please refer to our Terms and Conditions.

As with any financial operation, staking is not risk-free. The most common risk associated with staking is incurring “slashing” penalties charged by the network. Uphold protects against any uptime-related slashing risk, and monitors staked assets 24/7 to avoid downtime-related slashing. 

Uphold will make every reasonable effort to provide you with the ability to unstake your assets upon request via our flexible staking feature. In times of unusually high demand, however, you may not be able to unstake (and thus trade, send or withdraw) your assets until the end of the relevant network's unstaking period. This period varies, depending on the underlying network.

Upon unstaking, the assets you staked will be returned to your Uphold account, but during the unbounding period, the value of the asset may change. 

For more information about staking and any risks involved, please refer to our staking Terms & Conditions.

You are solely responsible for reporting and paying any applicable taxes including, but not limited to, any capital gains tax, based on your transactions on Uphold, including any staking rewards that you may earn.

Each asset has a minimum token per transaction amount.

Check our dedicated Terms and Conditions for additional information.

The time it takes assets to start accruing rewards once you staked.

The Annual Percentage Yield (APY) represents a projection of the total rewards you will get on that staked asset, taking into account the effect of compounding those rewards by letting them accumulate.

APY for crypto assets is variable and fluctuates based on supply and demand in each of the blockchain's different protocols. This is determined differently and can change at any given moment.

Rewards start accruing as soon as the moment the preparation period for your staked assets end. Rewards are then paid out every Thursday.

Uphold’s staking feature works with blockchains that use Proof Of Stake (PoS) as a consensus mechanism for validating and processing transactions and creating new blocks in a blockchain.

Owners of a crypto asset, pledge their coins to a validator (through Uphold and its partners) as part of this governance process. Once a block is ready to be processed, the crypto asset's proof-of-stake protocol selects a validator node to verify whether the transactions are accurate and, if so, add that block to the chain, receiving a reward for their contribution.

The chances of a validator being picked differs with each PoS protocol, with some randomization often employed, but chances are increased by the length of time validators have staked their coins and the amount staked.

Virtually anyone with a minimum balance of a supported PoS token can validate transactions and get rewards for doing so. Those rewards are credited regularly to your staking account, thereby compounding future rewards. Staking is therefore a great, legitimate way to put your holdings to work for you while supporting the governance function of a blockchain.

The time it takes to unstake tokens directly on the blockchain varies on a token-by-token basis, for example, DOT has a 28 day unstaking period.

Yes. Boosted Staking is also known as bonded or traditional staking. This staking method allows you to receive higher rewards compared to Flexible Staking by committing your assets to the network for a set period.

With Boosted Staking, you choose the specific asset and amount you want to stake. Your selected assets are placed into staking for a fixed duration, and withdrawing or selling them requires waiting through an unbonding/unstaking period that varies by asset.

How to stake:

• Tap Staking — if you don’t see it, tap More (...).
• Select a stakable asset.
• Tap Start Staking.
• Select the source asset or fiat from your portfolio to convert into the staking asset (it cannot be directly from a payment method).
• Hit the Preview Staking button.
• Review the transaction and tap Confirm.

How to unstake:

• Select the staked asset via the Portfolio tile.
• Tap Unstake.
• Choose the destination asset / fiat into which you would like to convert your staked asset.
• Tap Preview Unstaking.
• Review the transaction and tap Confirm.

If Flexible Staking is enabled, your eligible assets will automatically begin earning rewards the moment the unbonding period ends.

If staking is available in your region, you’ll see the feature in your app. It isn’t available in the following regions:

• Cyprus
• Singapore
• US: Louisiana (LA) and American Samoa
• Any jurisdictions where Uphold services are restricted

Staking involves risks, including:

• Unstaking periods: to sell or transfer staked assets, they must first be unstaked. The unstaking (or ‘unbonding’) period varies by token—sometimes up to 30 days (e.g., DOT: 28 days) during which assets are locked and no rewards are accrued during this period.
• Market volatility: the value of staked tokens may fluctuate during the staking or unstaking period.
• Slashing penalties: some networks impose penalties on validators, including for validator downtime or incorrect validation. Uphold will reimburse you for Slashing Fees charged on your Staked Eligible Cryptoassets on the terms, and subject to the exclusions, set out in the "Slashing Fees" section of our Staking Terms and Conditions.

Uphold monitors staked assets 24/7 to mitigate these risks but cannot eliminate them entirely. For more details, refer to our Staking Terms and Conditions.

Rewards start accumulating as soon as the preparation period ends, but they are not earned during the unstaking period. Timing may vary by token. Staking rewards are generally delivered to your Uphold account weekly, although Uphold retains sole discretion as to the timing of delivery. See our Staking Terms and Conditions for further detail.

Your Boosted Staking accounts, balances and rewards-to-date can all be tracked in your portfolio page.

Uphold collects fees between 20% - 25%, depending on the asset being staked. In order to ensure full transparency to our users, the estimated APY rate takes our commission into account. For more information, please refer to our Staking Terms and Conditions.

Flexible Staking allows you to earn rewards on eligible assets held in your portfolio. Unlike Boosted Staking, there is no lock-up period; you can trade, sell, spend with your Uphold card or withdraw your funds at any time.

To manage your enrollment, open Flexible Staking through one of the following methods:

• Tap the Flexible Staking banner on your portfolio dashboard.
• Tap the Staking icon at the bottom of the screen.
• Tap the More (...) icon, then select Staking.

Then locate the Flexible Staking toggle to set your preference:

• To opt in: switch the toggle on. This automatically enables rewards for all eligible assets in your portfolio.
• To opt out: switch the toggle off. This instantly stops reward accrual for your entire Flexible Staking eligible portfolio.

No. You cannot choose which eligible assets to stake. To exclude a specific asset, you would need to turn the feature off for the whole account.

No. Unlike Boosted Staking, there is no minimum balance required to start earning Flexible rewards.

Flexible Staking offers instant liquidity (no lock-up), which typically results in a lower reward rate than Boosted Staking.

If you want to move assets from Boosted Staking to Flexible Staking, the process is automatic once your assets are unstaked.

• Unstake your asset.
• Your asset will go through a cool-down period (the length depends on the specific asset).
• Once the unbonding period finishes, your asset returns to your portfolio.
• If you already have Flexible Staking toggled on, your asset will automatically start earning flexible rewards the moment it arrives. You don’t need to do anything else.

No. If the Flexible Staking setting is already on, any assets returning to your portfolio from a Boosted state will start earning automatically.

This is a network requirement. Assets do not earn rewards while they are being unstaked (unbonding).

Tap the Staking icon. If Flexible Staking shows “Enabled,” every eligible asset in your portfolio, including recently unstaked ones, is earning rewards.

Yes. You can earn rewards on the same asset using both programs at the same time. This allows you to earn a higher rate on your long-term holdings while keeping some of your crypto ready to trade.

• Boosted Staking: this is for the specific amount you choose to “stake” and lock away. These funds are moved to a separate staking balance to earn a higher reward rate.
• Flexible Staking: this covers the remaining balance of that asset in your Uphold portfolio. As long as the Flexible Staking setting is toggled on, these funds earn rewards while remaining fully available for you to trade or spend.

Example: if you have 10 SOL, you can put 7 SOL into Boosted Staking to maximize your rewards and keep 3 SOL in your portfolio. Because Flexible Staking is enabled, those 3 SOL will also earn rewards automatically, but you can sell them whenever you want.

Rewards are calculated daily based on the balance of eligible assets held in your account. These daily earnings are then aggregated and generally delivered to your account every Thursday for the previous week’s activity, although Uphold retains sole discretion as to the timing of delivery. See our Staking Terms and Conditions for further detail.

How it works:

• Each day, we verify your eligible balance to determine that day’s reward portion.
• Total rewards accrued from Monday to Sunday are paid out the following Thursday.

You don’t need to turn off Flexible Staking to sell your crypto.

• If you sell mid-week: you will still receive rewards for the days you held the asset. Rewards are calculated daily, so you only earn for the time the crypto was in your portfolio.
• If you buy more: your rewards will automatically increase starting from the next daily snapshot.

Staking involves risks, including:

• Unstaking periods: while assets are not locked up in Flexible Staking, in extreme withdrawal events, assets may be subject to an unbonding period.
• Market volatility: the value of staked tokens may fluctuate during the staking or unstaking period.
• Slashing penalties: some networks impose penalties on validators, including for validator downtime or incorrect validation. Uphold will reimburse you for Slashing Fees charged on your Staked Eligible Cryptoassets on the terms, and subject to the exclusions, set out in the "Slashing Fees" section of our Staking Terms and Conditions.

Uphold monitors staked assets 24/7 to mitigate these risks but cannot eliminate them entirely. For more details, refer to our Staking Terms and Conditions.

Yes. In most jurisdictions, staking rewards are considered taxable income at the time they are received.

• You can download your full Transaction History from the Account Center to help with your tax reporting.
• In the US, Uphold provides tax documents, like the 1099-MISC, if you meet the minimum earning thresholds.

If Flexible Staking is available in your region, you will see the feature in your app. It is not available in the following regions:

• United Kingdom
• European Economic Area
• Switzerland
• Australia
• Cyprus
• Singapore
• South Africa
• US: California, Louisiana, Washington State and American Samoa
• Any jurisdictions where Uphold services are restricted

Uphold collects fees of up to 50%, depending on the asset being staked. In order to ensure full transparency to our users, the estimated APY rate takes our commission into account. For more information, please refer to our Staking Terms and Conditions.