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What is staking?
Staking is locking up a proof-of-stake network's coins to help secure it, in return for rewards. On Ethereum, 32 ETH activates your own validator; smaller amounts can be staked through pools or exchanges, which run the validator for you.
What it means for you
Staked coins can be penalized if the validator goes offline or breaks the rules. Each step away from running your own validator adds a party between you and the protocol: a pool adds smart-contract risk, and an exchange holds your coins for you.
A common mistake: “Staking pays a fixed rate and the staked coins can't be lost.”
In fact: Rewards depend on validators doing their duties, and penalties and slashing come out of the stake itself. Pools add smart-contract risk and exchanges hold the coins for you, so each route adds its own ways to lose.
How it works
On Ethereum there are four main routes. Home staking means depositing 32 ETH and running the validator yourself; you hold every key and the protocol pays rewards directly to you. Delegated staking also takes 32 ETH, but an operator runs the node, usually while you keep the withdrawal key. Pooled and liquid staking accept small amounts, some as little as 0.01 ETH, and issue a liquid staking token for your share, adding the pool's contracts and operators as a layer. On an exchange, the exchange holds your ETH. Validators can exit, or take partial withdrawals, to their withdrawal address.
Sources: ethereum.org: Staking, ethereum.org: Proof-of-stake · checked 4 October 2026
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