Quick Start Guide: How to Stake on Polkadot

Learn how easy it is to stake on Polkadot.

Step 1: Generate a Stash accounts

This step can be done using a Ledger hardware wallet or the Polkadot extension.

Step 2: Bond Tokens via Polkadot-JS UI

  1. Select the amount you wish to bond.
  2. Choose payment destinations for reward distribution:
    1. If choosing “Stash account (increase the amount at stake)”, the reward will be compounded, bonded, and subject to 28 day bonding period.
    2. If you choose a “Stash account (do not increase the amount at stake)” or “Specified payment account” for payment destination, the reward will not be bonded and will be liquid.
  3. Once bonded, the staked principal will be subject to 28 day bonding period.

Step 3: Nominate a validator via Polkadot-JS UI

  1. A nominator can nominate up to 16 validators.
    1. If run your own validator, you need at least ~2MM DOT (as of Jan 2024).
  2. Once selected validators, nominations will be active in the next era (~24h), which will be the period when validators are elected for block production.
    1. Only the elected validator and its pool will receive rewards.

Step 4: Reward Distribution

  1. The reward is distributed to validators in each era (~24h).
  2. Equal block rewards are paid to validator pools regardless of the total amount staked in the individual validator pool, meaning pools with less stake generally pay more to the nominators than pools with more stakes. A pool is a term for a validator and its nominators.
    1. A percentage of the total reward from Blockdaemon’s validator pool is paid to Blockdaemon as a commission.
    2. The remainder is paid proportional to the amount staked by nominators.
  3. Reward compounds or not:
    1. If you choose payment destination as "Stash account (increase the amount at stake)", rewards are compounded and subject to a 28-day bonding period.
    2. If you choose payment destination as "Stash account (do not increase the amount at stake)", rewards are not automatically compounded, but such settings can change at any point and time.

Step 5: Claiming rewards via Polkadot-JS UI (manual reward trigger and unbond)

  1. Rewards are claimed and distributed to nominators once a week by the Blockdaemon team.
    1. You will be able to self-claim your rewards more often by using the polkadot-js UI. You will be responsible for paying the transaction fees for the claim if done this way.
    2. If you compound the reward in step 2, the selected reward amount will be subject to a 28-day unbonding period, during which the unbonded DOTs cannot be transferred nor accrue staking rewards.

Key Management

Stash Key

This is the address that holds your staked funds securely on the blockchain network. It acts as a cold wallets, protecting funds for multiple users that should never be exposed to the internet.

Staking Proxy Account

With the stash account’s permission, a staking proxy account can sign for the stash account in staking and governance votes but not transfer funds. At any time, the stash account can replace its staking proxy account.

If proxying to a Blockdaemon proxy account, select “Non-transfer Proxy” as the proxy type.


Validator Requirements

Becoming a validator requires upfront skills and knowledge. Both reputation and finances are at risk when becoming a validator, as a poor-performing validator can suffer slashing and no nominators. Blockdaemon’s validator staking services guarantee strong performance consistently. Furthermore, all funds are insured against slashing, meaning finances are never at risk. This means peace of mind and return on investment for participating in Polkadot’s decentralization.

A full list of the requirements for becoming a validator can be read here.

👋 Need Help?

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