Hey everyone ! I fully know this might sound useless to most of you, but I’m conviced it could help some new comers and thought a quick reminder should be a good thing for everyone.

What is staking ?

Staking is the core mechanism of PoS projects, where you delegate your coins to validators to improve decentralization and security on the network. For doing so, you get rewards in said currency with an interest fixed by the validators.

To each project their own steps, but it’s the easiest part of DeFi, as long as you know how to use a wallet.

Why should I stake ?

The obvious reason is the passive income it generates. Who would say no to free money, right ? By delegating your coins, you’re helping the network getting more secure, improve through governance and get you some interest, all while doing absolutely nothing.

Is it worth it ?

Definitely yes. Most project show more than 5% APY, up to 20% for some. This is insanely higher than anything you could find in traditional banking. Add compounding effect to that : some projects offer a daily/weekly/monthly reward. Which means the more frequent the reward, the stronger the compound.

Why you should not stake on exchanges

Exchanges are mostly the biggest nodes/stakers on every project and do not participate in governance. This means not only a severe security issue for the the network, but also they’re feeding on your interests, giving you only a share they regulate.

By staking on an exchange you’re at the same time working against decentralization and looking down on free money.

Conclusion

In these trying times of inflation and crab market, it becomes mandatory to be aware of staking as it can effectively improve your portfolio balance simply holding.

This also could be a good reason to look for new projects that you might have overlooked.

Good luck to you all, feel free to share your opinion here.

^{tl;dr : You need to stake individually to help the project you believe in grow. Do not give away free money to CEXs. Since we’re holding, why not grab money along the way ?}