Staking allows you to maximize profits on your crypto by participating in securing the blockchain and earning crypto as rewards. This is possible with Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchains like Polkadot ($DOT).
Wondering if you could earn some rewards on your DOT but not sure where exactly to stake them? We’ve got you covered! Let’s go over the different places you can stake your DOT.
The Polkadot Staking Dashboard is an official tool developed by the Parity Technologies team for users in the Polkadot ecosystem. Here you can stake/unstake DOT, nominate validators, monitor your rewards, and delegate or join pools. It is a more beginner-friendly staking option with a simple interface while still having the security of holding your private keys.
It is also possible to stake your DOT with other non-custodial wallets that support Polkadot. These wallets allow for more security in the sense that you hold your own private keys but also require some technical skill to set up. Examples of these would be hot wallets like Nova Wallet, SubWallet, Fearless Wallet, Polkawallet and PolkaGate. Some cold wallets also allow DOT staking such as Ledger and Polkadot Vault.
If you want the simplest DOT staking experience, you can do so on several centralized exchanges (CEXes). This is the most convenient staking option for most beginners since CEX user interfaces are generally the easiest to use, and they handle all the technical stuff, such as storing your private keys. However, staking rewards on centralized exchanges are usually the lowest and you need to trust them to secure your crypto. Some examples of CEXes where you can stake DOT are OKX, Coinbase, and Kraken.
Several decentralized applications (dApps) also offer staking pools for DOT, which aggregate the stakes of multiple users. These offer potentially higher rewards than CEXes and also allow you to avoid the massive technical expertise needed to stake on-chain (though you still need to hold your own keys). Some examples of dApps where you can stake DOT include Acala, Bifrost and Polkaswap.
See all the options available? There are many places and different methods to stake your DOT, so just keep experimenting and find whichever best suits you!
