Staking crypto is a hugely popular way to earn income passively using your crypto funds. You can stake a wide variety of coins if you’re looking to earn some crypto staking rewards, including Cosmos (ATOM). There are also a number of different platforms that allow you to do so.
But, how to stake ATOM and where to do so? Well, here are a few of the best places you can stake your Cosmos (ATOM) tokens.
How to Stake ATOM?
1. Get ATOM using one of the many cryptocurrency exchanges.
2. Transfer your ATOM to a wallet.
3. Select your validators.
4. Lock up and stake your ATOM.
Where Can I Stake ATOM?
1. Atomic Wallet
Atomic Wallet allows users to store their private keys for their crypto funds online. While this is generally what it is known for, you can also stake your crypto funds via your desktop or smartphone using Atomic Wallet.
Currently, ATOM offers staking rewards ranging from 7% to 11%. You'll only need 1 ATOM to begin staking with Atomic Wallet, which equates to around $37 at the moment (though this price is subject to changes daily). You can also find a staking calculator on the Cosmos website that allows you to find out how much you'll earn in rewards depending on how much ATOM you decide to stake.
It's important to note that Atomic Wallet charges a network fee for staking, but this fee changes depending on the network load or traffic. On top of this, your funds will be locked for the duration of the staking period, and it'll take 21 days for your funds to be released if you decide you no longer wish to stake your funds during the staking window.
2. Binance
Binance has become one of the world's most popular cryptocurrency exchanges over the past few years, but it's not only great for buying and selling crypto. You can stake a variety of different tokens using Binance, including Cosmos.
To get started with staking ATOM on Binance, you'll need at least 0.5 ATOM in your wallet, making ATOM staking via Binance an affordable option for most.
Binance currently offers a percentage yield of between 1.5% and 3% when you stake your ATOM, and, as with all other tokens, Binance doesn't demand any fee for staking this coin. Though these reward rates may seem low compared to other platforms, Binance's reputability and lack of staking fees still make it a viable and trustworthy option for staking your ATOM.
3. Kraken
Kraken is another example of a world-famous crypto exchange that allows you to stake a number of popular crypto tokens, including Cosmos. At the moment, you can earn annual rewards of 7.5% from staking your ATOM on Kraken.
Fortunately, Kraken doesn't lock up your funds if you choose to stake ATOM as they would with some other coins, making them accessible to you even when they're being staked. Kraken also doesn't charge any fees for staking or un-staking. But note that you'll need some ATOM in your Kraken wallet before you begin staking, as is the case with most staking platforms and exchanges.
4. Ledger Wallet
Unlike any other platform mentioned here, Ledger is not entirely virtual. Ledger's range of crypto wallets are all physical and are known as hardware wallets. However, you can still stake your ATOM using your Ledger wallet. This allows for higher levels of security, given that hardware wallets store private keys offline, unlike software wallets, making them impervious to cyber-attacks and server malfunctions. So, how does Ledger staking work?
When staking via Ledger, you delegate your ATOM funds to a validator for a set period. You cannot then transfer or use the ATOM being delegated, though you can undelegate your ATOM if you wish to pull out of the staking process. It will take around three weeks for your undelegated ATOM to be unlocked after confirming that you want to stop staking.
You can stake your Cosmos using an external wallet, such as Lunie or Cosmostation. However, you can also use Ledger's own platform to stake. To do this, you'll need to download Ledger Live. This is an app that you can download on either your desktop or smartphone for free, with which you can manage and stake your crypto.
By staking your ATOM via your Ledger wallet, you can earn rewards of between 8% and 10%, which is pretty good compared to some other platforms. Along with the increased security offered by Ledger, it is certainly a great choice for staking your Cosmos funds.
5. Trust Wallet
Trust Wallet offers a trustworthy and easy-to-use software wallet for buying, exchanging, and storing crypto funds. And, on top of this, you can stake your ATOM using Trust Wallet on either your desktop or smartphone. But why choose Trust Wallet?
Firstly, Trust Wallet is one of the most secure and reliable software wallets out there, so you don't need to worry about your funds being lost or stolen. Secondly, the minimum amount of ATOM you're required to have in order to stake is pretty low with Trust Wallet. With just 0.01 ATOM in your wallet, you can get started.
Because staking using Trust Wallet is done via delegating your funds to a validator, said funds will be locked for the duration of the staking period. However, you can earn rewards of up to 10% by staking your ATOM using Trust Wallet, which can give way to some healthy rewards.
6. Coinbase
Coinbase is an internationally popular crypto exchange that allows you to buy, sell, and stake a wide variety of different crypto tokens, and ATOM is no exception here.
Cosmos currently offers rewards of 5% for staking your ATOM via its exchange, which is pretty mid-table when it comes to Cosmos staking rewards across the board. You'll need to either buy 1 ATOM via Coinbase or deposit the same amount into your Coinbase wallet before you get started with staking, and Coinbase charges a fee of 5% for staking, which is taken from your rewards. So, if you're looking to avoid staking fees entirely, it might be worth checking out some of the other platforms listed here.
7. Guarda Wallet
Though Guarda is mostly used as a software crypto wallet, you can also use it to stake your ATOM. Guarda currently offers a healthy 9% reward rate for staking Cosmos, though you can use its website to calculate how much you can earn from staking your desired amount of ATOM. This calculator will show you both the monthly and annual rewards that you can earn, as well as the current worth of your ATOM funds in USD.
You'll need a minimum of 1 ATOM in order to stake using Guarda using either your desktop or smartphone via the free Guarda app. It's super simple to get started with staking, and you can also check out some of the other great features offered by this software wallet, such as the ability to store a huge range of different tokens and exchange your ATOM.
Summary
To wrap up “how to stake ATOM and where can I stake ATOM?”, using any of the platforms above, you can get started with ATOM staking in no time and earn staking rewards on a daily, monthly, or annual basis. With low minimum requirements and little-to-no fees, staking ATOM is almost a no-brainer if you want to earn a little passive income using your Cosmos funds.
