10 best crypto coins for staking

There are different ways to make money with cryptocurrencies. If you wish to earn passive income, use staking – a simple and transparent alternative to mining. A year ago, Staked predicted that by the beginning of 2022, the total rewards for staking PoS coins could reach $18.9 billion. So far, new statistics have not been published, but experts consider this forecast quite plausible. In this article, we will look at the main features of staking and talk about the best cryptocurrencies for this type of earning.

What is staking?

Staking is the long-term holding of coins in a crypto wallet. The owner of the wallet receives additional digital coins by participating in the verification of transactions. In this process, the Proof of Stake (PoS) algorithm is used, which protects the blockchain from any third-party interference.

Roughly speaking, staking is the traditional bank deposit of the digital finance world. Funds are held in a crypto wallet or on a specialised platform, earning profit for the owner. The basic principle of PoS staking is that the larger the amount of staked coins, more blocks can be generated. The obvious advantage of this means of obtaining digital coins is that the user does not need to buy expensive equipment.

What you need to know about staking

Staking is a great investment tool for beginners. To successfully stake crypto, you only need to be able to buy and transfer digital coins to your wallet. It does much less harm to the environment and directly improves the efficiency and security of PoS blockchains. Keep in mind that large holders can have a large influence on network development and the voting system.

The rate of return is largely determined by the choice of cryptocurrency and the period of staking. To date, there are several PoS staking schemes that differ in the conditions for staking coins, which also affects the level of income received by the user.

Types of staking

If the user indicates how long they place assets in advance, this is locked staking. The platform offers the owner of tokens flexible starting conditions, but they cannot be changed until the end of the signed contract. The user receives a good interest rate, however, in some cases, the threshold for entering fixed staking is quite high.

With flexible staking, the term for staking coins is not indicated. Interest is accrued to the user until the tokens are withdrawn or an order for their sale is opened. In most cases, remuneration begins to accrue a day after the assets are held in staking and payments are made once a month. The validator can stop participating in staking at any time without any penalty.

DeFi staking uses smart contracts. This is the area of ​​decentralised finance (services that work on blockchain technology). Organisations or individual users (third parties) borrow coins from the owner at a certain percentage to loan them. Interest in DeFi staking is quite high, and the entry threshold fairly low. Remuneration is accrued daily, and the period of payments is not limited.

How to choose a coin to stake?

The criteria for choosing a cryptocurrency for staking is quite simple – you need to take into account the volatility and the minimum entry threshold. Of course, it is important to understand the basic rules of working with cryptocurrencies and get acquainted with current market trends.

An important piece of advice from crypto-economic experts is to rebalance your portfolio at least once every three months. Keep in mind that the digital coins you use for staking will be locked up for a certain amount of time. This means that during this period, you will not be able to carry out any transactions with them.

Best crypto coins for staking

Here is our list of the best coins to stake in 2022.

Ethereum 2.0 (ETH 2.0)

A long-term competitor of bitcoin and the second-largest cryptocurrency in the world by capitalisation. In anticipation of Ethereum’s transition to PoS, more than $12 billion has been invested in staking this asset – and this is taking into account the fact that the official launch has not yet taken place. The second phase of the blockchain upgrade, dubbed the Merge, is expected in 2022. According to the Ethereum Foundation, the final upgrade to Ethereum 2.0 will be implemented by 2023. However, users can already participate in staking, which has a minimum entry threshold of 32 ETH 2.0. On the crypto exchange, Coinbase, the yield of ETH 2.0 staking varies in the range of 5-7% per annum, the average annual interest rate in the market is 4.8%.

The status of a validator implies the launch of a full network node with equipment that must be connected to the network around the clock. In addition to the standard algorithm, it is possible to start staking in a pool.

MetaHash Coin (MHC)

MetaHash is a new generation blockchain that allows you to carry out instant transactions with cryptocurrencies, as well as create and manage decentralised services in real time. MetaHash is based on advanced technologies that provide processing of more than 100,000 transactions per second, which is equivalent to 5 billion transactions per day. This makes it the fastest blockchain on the market.

MetaHash Coin (MHC) is the native token of the MetaHash project. It ensures the reliability of the network, its regulation and self-financing. MHC also provides development resources for any application or smart contract, including the MetaHash project itself. The growth of MetaHash Coin is based on the liquidity of the cryptocurrency, the manufacturability of the project and the growth of the MetaHash community. Staking MetaHash Coin is available with a minimum investment of $15, and earnings are 17% per annum, plus an income from the MHC rate.

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Staking MetaHash Coin is available with a minimum investment of $15

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Terra (LUNA)

One of the best cryptocurrencies for staking at the moment. Terra is a Cosmos SDK-based blockchain network that has its own token called LUNA. Terra arranges for the creation of the crypto-backed stablecoin TerraUSD (UST). To generate a stablecoin, LUNAs are converted 1:1 into UST tokens at USD value.

The principle of making a profit is as follows: if the price of UST is $0.97, arbitrageurs will exchange 1 UST for 1 US dollar and make a profit of 3 cents. The difference between the issue price of tokens and their value is called seigniorage. The annual reward for staking LUNA is around 7-9%. LUNA can be purchased on crypto exchanges such as Binance.

Cardano (ADA)

Another project by Ethereum’s developer, Charles Hoskinson. Two types of staking are available to owners of digital coins: standalone or in a pool. The first option is suitable for experienced validators, as it requires constant monitoring of equipment and maintaining the node’s performance. Crypto staking in the pool is more often chosen by beginners, since operations are carried out without their participation.

ADA can be staked on Daedalus and Yoroi wallets, or on the eToro platform. The average return on Cardano is 4.5% per annum.

Solana (SOL)

A promising cryptocurrency, which is characterised by high speed and low cost of transactions. You cannot create your own node on the network, but it is possible to delegate your coins to a validator. To do this, the system opens a stake account, then delegates it to the selected validator at the beginning of its next epoch (block creation round). Due to this, income is not generated immediately after staking starts.

SOL can be staked using Ledger, MathWallet, Atomic Wallet or Exodus Wallet. The staking term depends on the end of the epoch and ranges from several hours to several days. During this period, the user has the opportunity to withdraw their coins from the stake. Experts estimate the annual profit from SOL staking is in the range between 7% and 11%.

Tezos (XTZ)

Experts call Tezos one of the most democratic crypto projects because its creators allow investors to actively manage the development of the company. Users appreciate Tezos for the stability of payouts and the minimum entry threshold.

You can participate in staking even with 1 XTZ in your account. You need to wait 35-40 days for the first payments, the next ones come faster – every 3 days. Average annual profits from Tezos staking range from 6.75% to 10.60%. You can stake XTZ on the official website of the project or on any major exchange.

Polygon (MATIC)

This is an ambitious project that aims to connect all decentralised apps based on Ethereum. The cost of transactions has been significantly reduced, while their speed and security have been enhanced. To date, it is possible to confirm up to 65,000 operations per second, and the level of their security is high. 

You can start staking with only 2 MATIC. The procedure starts by connecting the Polygon web wallet to the Metamask wallet. Users can choose between locked and flexible staking. Profitability is determined by the amount and period of staking. The average annual reward is about 10%.

Tether (USDT)

Another stablecoin on our list, which has the largest capitalisation and the highest liquidity. It is backed by fiat and securities, pegged to the US dollar. USDT is easy enough to exchange for other tokens that users are interested in. The minimum staking amount is 100 USDT. The maximum locked staking duration is 40 days.

However, crypto experts recommend paying attention to flexible staking as a more profitable option. In this case, you can receive up to 5% per annum. USDT staking is offered by major exchanges such as Binance, Crypto.com and Kraken.

Polkadot (DOT)

One of the best cryptocurrencies to stake in 2022. In favor of Polkadot is the fact that Ethereum’s co-founder was involved in the development of DOT. The main objective of the project is to find a solution to the problem of blockchain scalability and, accordingly, increase

bars of security and efficiency of services in the crypto market. Polkadot uses parallel chains, but solutions interact between them for maximum efficiency.

The minimum staking amount is 40 DOT (this value changes periodically). You will need at least 350 DOT to create a validator node. The cryptocurrency has a good annual return, the average return is 14%. You can stake DOT on Binance, Kraken and Fearless Wallet – just to name a few options.

ICON (ICX)

The platform uses an updated PoS which developers call dBFT (Delegated Byzantine Fault Tolerance) which has changed the scheme for coordinating transactions slightly. The global goal of ICON is to unite different segments of the global economy, allowing individual sectors to remain independent.

The entry threshold is minimal, so you can stake even 1 ICX. The yield is estimated at 16% per annum. The cryptocurrency is available on major exchanges, and the project also has its own web wallet.

Conclusions

Judging by the current trend, private investors are likely to increasingly prefer staking. The risks here are standard for the cryptosphere, while users can earn a good income by investing their assets on time. It is worth starting staking only after a thorough study of the market and a sound assessment of your financial capabilities.

To be sure about the safety of your funds, you should choose reliable staking platforms, such as aStake. As a result of the fully automated process, you do not require special knowledge or equipment to start staking, and a minimum investment of $15 is sufficient to invest. Register on aStake to start building your own crypto capital today with an income of 17% per annum.