Avalanche is a blockchain that stands out from the rest because of its uncommon design features: the novel consensus mechanism, horizontal scaling solution called subnets, subsecond finality, sustainability, decentralization, and interoperability.
Avalanche was introduced by Ava Labs in September 2020, claiming it to be “the fastest smart contract platform in the blockchain industry,” being decentralized, highly scalable, and secure, which helps to address the well-known blockchain trilemma.
The Avalanche network ensures strong security that is backed by a scalable set of validators. They help secure the platform by staking the tokens of their delegators who earn more tokens in rewards.
This guide will explain how to stake AVAX using the Avalanche Wallet.
What Is the Avalanche Blockchain?
Unlike classical consensus, Avalanche eliminates the need to communicate with every node each time by offering a more efficient and faster algorithm.
Avalanche queries a random subgroup of validators whether the transaction should be accepted or rejected. The final decision of this small subgroup is made based on how the majority of its validators votes. The process repeats several times with more subgroups of validators, and the network finalizes an answer after enough rounds leading to a consensus.
In addition, Avalanche’s underlying architecture allows creating limitless blockchains grouped into subnets, granting fantastic opportunities for decentralized apps developers. See more in our overview.
Avalanche Blockchain Explorer
You can keep track of the network’s stats and check the list of the Avalanche validators using one of the Avalanche blockchain explorers:
What Is the Avalanche Wallet?
The Avalanche Wallet is a web-based non-custodial native wallet of the Avalanche network. Users can send, receive, store, and delegate their AVAX tokens to a validator via Avalanche.
There is a subnet called the Primary Network that consists of three primary built-in blockchains at the core of the Avalanche architecture: the X-Chain (used for sending and receiving funds), the P-Chain (allows users to stake AVAX), and the C-Chain (used for smart contracts and DeFi apps.)
Corresponding to the Avalanche architecture characteristics, the same wallet will have three wallet addresses including the X-Chain, P-Chain, and C-Chain, as well as the cross-chain transfer feature to move tokens between the chains.
Why Stake the Avalanche Coin?
Holders who participate in staking help secure the network and contribute to the decentralization of the blockchain. That’s why staking AVAX allows users to earn rewards, and it’s more profitable than just holding the assets.
As a native non-custodial wallet, the official Avalanche wallet serves as the best place to stake Avalanche and interact with the blockchain ecosystem.
How to Stake Avalanche (AVAX)?
You will need to create an Avalanche wallet. Head over to the official Avalanche wallet and hit the red Create New Wallet button on the right.
Click the red Generate Key Phrase button to proceed.
As you can see in the picture below, Avalanche has generated a 24-word key phrase that will be used to access and recover the wallet. If you do not want to lose access to it, store it in a safe and secure place. Keep in mind that key phrases can never be recovered if lost. No one but you should have the key phrase for your wallet, as anyone with the phrase will also have access to your tokens.
Once you click Access Wallet, it will ask you to verify three specific words from the key phrase. Select the right ones and hit Verify.
By verifying the selected seed words, you complete the setup process.
Deposit AVAX to Avalanche
Now, let’s deposit some AVAX to our wallet. Please note that if you already have more than 25.1 AVAX on the P-Chain (25 AVAX is the minimum amount required for staking Avalanche, plus about 0.1 to compensate for transaction fees), you can skip this step and proceed to the Stake AVAX section. Otherwise, use the chain address displayed in the top right corner to send funds to your Avalanche Wallet.
After you send the funds, check out the AVAX balance. It takes a few seconds to show up.
Transfer the Avalanche Amount You Want to Stake from the X-Chain to the P-Chain
As mentioned above, Avalanche’s architecture is based on subnets — sovereign customizable networks secured by sets of validators. The core subnet is called the Primary Network that consists of three task-specific blockchains:
- The Exchange Chain (X-Chain) where AVAX is generated and exchanged for other assets.
- The Platform Chain (P-Chain) that is used to coordinate validators and create subnets.
- The Contract Chain (C-Chain) where developers create smart contracts for decentralized apps.
To stake AVAX tokens, you need to transfer them to the P-Chain as this is where staking occurs. To do so, hit Earn on the left-hand panel and then Transfer under Cross Chain Transfer.
It gets you to a tool that allows transferring tokens between chains. Make sure you select the source (X) and destination (P) chains correctly.
Please note that Avalanche charges a 0.002 AVAX fee on transfers: 0.001 for exporting from the X-Chain and 0.001 for importing to the P-Chain.
Double check if everything is correct and hit Confirm, then Transfer.
Once the transfer is completed, the amount shows up under Available (P).
Stake AVAX
Finally, we are ready to learn how to stake Avalanche. Go back to the Earn tab and find the Delegate section below. Then hit the Add Delegator button.
Now you can see all of the validator nodes. Before choosing a staking provider, you can visit Avascan and evaluate all the nodes according to your preferred strategy, whether it’s a long-term or a short-term delegation, and depending on the amount you want to delegate.
Make sure your validator has enough capacity and time left to accept your delegation.
Make sure to review the validator’s uptime, since this is what your staking rewards directly depend on.
To receive staking rewards at the end of the staking term, the validator should be online and responsive for more than 80% of its validation period (uptime). You may check the validator’s performance using either one of the explorers (Avascan or VScout) or Avalanche’s Validator Health Check dashboard.
Choose a node from the list or by entering a key phrase in the search field. Once you have chosen the validator, hit Select.
To delegate your AVAX on our node, please select :
NodeID-EBF7imfP93Sc4cv3cUAK21maYDvaFMS5j
After the node selection, the wallet takes you to the page where you have to set the staking parameters:
- Staking End Date. The delegation period cannot be set past the validator’s end time.
- Stake Amount. You are required to delegate at least 25 AVAX (which is the minimum staking amount).
- Reward Address. It can be the same Avalanche Wallet or any custom destination where you’d like to transfer the earnings.
Please pay close attention to the parameters — once set, they cannot be changed.
Having selected everything, hit Confirm and then Submit.
That’s it! You have successfully started staking. Please note that the Balance section now displays 25 AVAX under Staking. To check out details, go to the Activity tab and find the delegation transfer in the transactions list. It shows the stake end date, delegated amount, and estimated rewards.
Delegating to NBTC
You are free to choose the AVAX node of your choice to delegate your tokens. However, if you want to use our validation node, please delegate to :
NodeID-EBF7imfP93Sc4cv3cUAK21maYDvaFMS5j
We use the lowest delegation fee rate (2%) and have a years-long average response time over 99%.
