Calculate your potential staking rewards with compound interest. Compare different staking options and see how your crypto can grow over time.
Simple interest rate without compounding. If you stake 100 tokens at 10% APR, you earn exactly 10 tokens after one year (no reinvestment).
Includes compound interest. The same 10% APR compounded daily gives ~10.52% APY. Your rewards earn rewards!
Pro Tip: Always check if the advertised rate is APY or APR. Some platforms advertise APY but calculate APR, making yields appear higher.
// 10% APR, $10,000 staked for 1 year
No compounding: $11,000.00
Monthly compound: $11,047.13
Weekly compound: $11,050.65
Daily compound: $11,051.56
// Extra $51.56 from daily compounding!
More frequent compounding = higher effective returns. However, if you need to manually claim and restake rewards, consider gas fees which may offset gains from frequent compounding.
| Asset | APY Range | Lock Period | Popular Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethereum (ETH) | 3.5% - 5.5% | Variable | Lido, Rocket Pool, Coinbase |
| Solana (SOL) | 6% - 8% | ~2 days unstake | Marinade, Jito, Native |
| Cardano (ADA) | 3% - 5% | No lock | Native staking pools |
| Polkadot (DOT) | 10% - 14% | 28 days unbond | Native, Parallel Finance |
| Cosmos (ATOM) | 15% - 20% | 21 days unbond | Keplr, Cosmostation |
| Avalanche (AVAX) | 8% - 10% | 14 days min stake | Native, Benqi |
* Rates are approximate and change frequently. Always verify current rates on the platform before staking. Higher APY often comes with higher risk or longer lock periods.
Got crypto sitting in your wallet doing nothing? Staking lets you put it to work. You lock up your tokens, help secure a blockchain network, and earn rewards in return. Since Ethereum switched to proof-of-stake in 2022, staking went from crypto-nerd territory to something everyone's talking about. But here's what most guides skip: the APY you see advertised isn't always what you get. Unbonding periods mean your tokens are locked. Validators can get slashed. And those juicy 20%+ yields? Often too good to be true. Let's dig into how staking actually works and what you'll realistically earn.
Proof-of-stake networks don't use mining. Instead, validators lock up tokens as collateral. They get to validate transactions and earn rewards for doing it honestly. Cheat or go offline too much? You get 'slashed,' meaning you lose some of your staked tokens. That keeps everyone playing fair. Most people don't run their own validators. Ethereum requires 32 ETH (around $60,000+) plus technical know-how. Instead, you delegate to existing validators or use staking services like Lido. You keep ownership of your tokens, but they're locked while earning rewards. One catch: as more people stake, individual rewards shrink. If 50% of a network's tokens are staked versus 30%, your slice of the reward pie gets smaller.
