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.

Each asset has a minimum token per transaction amount.

Check our dedicated Terms and Conditions for additional information.

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.

Yes, Boosted staking also known as Bonded or Traditional Staking. This staking method allows you to earn higher reward rates by committing your assets to the network for a set period.

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.

While staking is generally safe, it 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 earned during this period.

• Market volatility: The value of staked tokens may fluctuate during the staking or unstaking period.

• Slashing penalties: some networks impose penalties for validator downtime. Uphold safeguards you against downtime-related slashing risks.

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

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

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.

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

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.