How to stake your ETH
Stake your ETH to become an Ethereum validator
Staking
Staking is the act of depositing 32 ETH to activate validator software. As a validator you’ll be responsible for storing data, processing transactions, and adding new blocks to the blockchain. This will keep Ethereum secure for everyone and earn you new ETH in the process. This process, known as proof-of-stake, is being introduced by the Beacon Chain. More on the Beacon Chain
Rewards
Rewards are given for actions that help the network reach consensus. You'll get rewards for batching transactions into a new block or checking the work of other validators because that's what keeps the chain running securely.
Risks
Although you can earn rewards for doing work that benefits the network, you can lose ETH for malicious actions, going offline, and failing to validate.
Requirements
You'll need 32 ETH to become a full validator or some ETH to join a staking pool. You'll also need to run an execution client (formerly 'Eth1 client'). The launchpad will walk you through the process and hardware requirements. Alternatively, you can use a backend API.
Join the staker community
r/ethstaker is a community for everyone to discuss staking on Ethereum – join for advice, support, and to talk all thing staking.
Proof-of-stake explained
Staking is what you need to do to become a validator in a proof-of-stake system. This is a consensus mechanism that is going to replace the proof-of-work system currently in place. Consensus mechanisms are what keep blockchains like Ethereum secure and decentralized. More on consensus mechanisms
Proof-of-stake helps secure the network in a number of ways:
Your ETH is at stake
Because you have to stake your ETH in order to validate transactions and create new blocks, you can lose it if you decide to try and cheat the system.
More validators, more security
In a blockchain like Ethereum it is possible to censor and reorder transactions to suit you if you control a majority of the network. But, to control a majority of the network, you need a majority of validators, and for this you’d need to control a majority of the ETH in the system – that’s a lot! This amount of ETH grows every time a new validator enters the system, bolstering the security of the network. Proof-of-work, the security model proof-of-stake will replace, requires the validators (miners) to have specialist hardware and lots of physical space – entering the system as a miner is difficult so security against majority attacks doesn't increase as much. Proof-of-stake doesn't have these requirements, which should grow the network (and its resistance to majority attacks) to sizes that aren't possible with proof-of-work.
Proof-of-stake and consensus upgrades
- Proof-of-stake is managed by the Beacon Chain.
- Ethereum will have a proof-of-stake Beacon Chain and a proof-of-work Mainnet for the foreseeable future. Mainnet is the Ethereum we've been using for years.
- During this time, stakers will be adding new blocks to the Beacon Chain but not processing mainnet transactions.
- Ethereum will fully transition to a proof-of-stake system once the Ethereum mainnet merges with the Beacon Chain.
- A minor upgrade will follow to enable withdraw of staked funds.
Benefits of staking to Ethereum
More sustainable
Validators don’t need energy-intensive computers in order to participate in a proof-of-stake system – just a laptop or smartphone. This will make Ethereum better for the environment.
More accessible
With easier hardware requirements and the opportunity to pool if you don’t have 32 ETH, more people will be able to join the network. This will make Ethereum more decentralized and secure by decreasing the attack surface area.
Unlocks sharding
Sharding is only possible with a proof-of-stake system. Sharding a proof-of-work system would dilute the amount of computing power needed to corrupt the network, making it easier for malicious miners to control shards. This isn’t the case with randomly-assigned stakers in proof-of-stake.