Understanding staking pools: The pros and cons of staking cryptocurrency

As a suitable option for long-term crypto token holders, staking pools offer the promise of earning yields in addition to the capital gains earned through token value appreciation.

One can invest in a stake pool with a fraction of the number of tokens required to become a validator on a PoS blockchain, while the staking pool rewards users on a daily, weekly or quarterly basis, depending on the cryptocurrency being staked. For example, investors can stake their ETH tokens in a staking pool on Coinbase for daily rewards and with no minimum balance requirement.

Another popular blockchain to stake tokens is Cosmos, the second largest ecosystem in blockchain. Investors can also stake their tokens through various validators on many chains available in the Cosmos ecosystem.

Choosing which staking pool to enter depends on a number of factors, including the commission rates, which are typically between 5% to 6% and how they contribute to the ecosystem like creating code for the projects they validate. The annual percentage rate (APR) varies from chain to chain, with the APR on Cosmos Hub being 15%, while for Osmosis it’s 60% and Juno offers 150%, which is significantly higher.

Apart from these factors, many staking pool operators offer unique value propositions that may make them appealing to potential stakeholders. A relevant example here is Cosmos Antimatter, a new budding Cosmos ecosystem validator that is promoting decentralization within the validator network. The main aim is to ensure that no validator cartels are formed while giving up 100% of their profit to the stakeholder ecosystem.