Staking
Staking means putting coins up as a deposit so you can help run a proof-of-stake blockchain. Follow the rules and you earn rewards; break them and part of the deposit can be destroyed.
Photo: “Stake.” by MIKI Yoshihito. (#mikiyoshihito), CC BY 2.0, via Flickr (edited: cropped and resized).
Staking is depositing a network’s coins to become a validator that checks transactions and proposes blocks. On Ethereum, running your own validator takes at least 32 ETH [1]. Validators earn rewards for doing their duties and lose ETH if they go offline or cheat [2].
Key points
- 1Staking is the security mechanism of proof-of-stake: the deposit is what an attacker would have to risk.
- 2Rewards vary; they are not a fixed interest rate.
- 3Pools, liquid staking tokens and exchanges add their own risks on top of the network’s rules.
How does staking work?#
In a proof-of-stake blockchain, the computers that add blocks — validators — must first lock up some of the network’s coins. On Ethereum they deposit ETH into a deposit contract, then run software that checks new blocks and votes on them [3]. Because the deposit can be destroyed for provable cheating, validators have a financial reason to follow the rules [3].
Validators earn rewards for timely votes and for proposing blocks. If they are offline, they miss rewards and pay small penalties. Provable misbehaviour, such as signing two different blocks for the same slot, leads to slashing: part of the stake is destroyed and the validator is forced out [4].
| Step | Value |
|---|---|
| Minimum stake for one validator | 32 ETH |
| Immediate slashing penalty = 32 ÷ 4,096 | 0.0078125 ETH |
| Further penalty on day 18 | Grows with how many validators were slashed at the same time |
A lone slashing costs a small slice of the stake; a mass slashing event can destroy all of it [3].
Do you need 32 ETH to stake?#
Only to run your own validator. Staking pools combine many people’s ETH, and many issue a liquid staking token as a receipt. Some pools accept as little as 0.01 ETH [1]. Exchanges also offer staking. Each step away from your own validator adds a middleman — smart contracts, node operators or a company holding your coins — with risks of its own [1]. Pooling is not natively supported by the protocol, so every pooled option puts an intermediary between you and Ethereum [5].
Which words are related?#
- Validator — the software and stake that proposes and attests to blocks.
- Slashing — the penalty for provable misbehaviour.
- Liquid staking token — a token from a pool that represents staked ETH plus rewards.
- Wrapped token — some liquid staking tokens have wrapped versions for apps.
- What is Ethereum — the network where staking replaced mining in 2022.
Frequently asked questions#
Is staking the same as mining?
Both decide who adds blocks, but mining spends computing power while staking puts coins at risk. Ethereum switched from mining to staking in September 2022 [6].
Can I lose money staking?
Yes. Validators can be penalised or slashed; pool tokens add smart-contract risk and can trade below the ETH behind them, and exchange programs take your ETH into custody [5]; and the coin’s price can fall.
Can I take my ETH back?
Yes, since withdrawals were enabled in April 2023, but exits go through a queue, so it is not instant [1].
Sources#
Grade A = primary source (regulator, protocol specification, client code, original author). Grade B = expert secondary source used for explanation only.
- Aethereum.org. Ethereum staking: How does it work?, 2025.
- Aethereum.org. Ethereum glossary, 2026.
- Aethereum.org. Proof-of-stake (PoS), 2026.
- Aethereum.org. Proof-of-stake rewards and penalties, 2026.
- Aethereum.org. Liquid & pooled staking, 2026.
- Aethereum.org. The Merge, 2026.