Kill the middleman of necessity, push power to the edges, and build systems that are equally fair for the least among us.
Charles Hoskinson
If you're interested in how to earn Cardano rewards, your mind will likely go right to the idea of cryptocurrency mining. After all, that’s been the dynamic for ages: To earn more crypto, you have to mine it. But Cardano operates differently than other mainstream cryptocurrencies. Instead, you earn ADA through a process called Cardano staking, and Cardano uses ADA stake pools – or delegation – to achieve this.
How to stake Cardano – that is, how to delegate your Cardano stake – is an important part of the backbone of the Cardano ADA system. The cryptocurrency staking model Cardano uses is unique among proof-of-stake coins (PoS) and is designed to achieve true decentralization, something other major cryptocurrencies have tried – and largely failed – to accomplish.
Cardano staking is unique because it allows anyone who holds ADA to earn rewards through a simplified process supported by all official Cardano wallets. If you’d like to get in on the ground floor and go straight to the top, our Cardano How-To Stake Guide will get you delegating – and profiting – just like crypto intended!
What is Cardano Staking?
Before you can learn how to delegate your Cardano stake, you need to understand what Cardano staking actually is. It might seem like a lot to take in, but don’t worry – it’s all pretty straightforward, even for first-time crypto users.
Staking is a different form of blockchain validation, which is the security theory that most cryptocurrencies are built around. With Bitcoin (BTC), you’ve heard of Bitcoin mining, or the method by which BTC transactions are validated by the community.
However, mining Bitcoin takes tremendous processing power and undermines its “decentralized” nature by giving all the validation control to just a few multimillion-dollar corporations with giant server farms. The little guy can’t compete.
With Cardano, which is a proof-of-stake cryptocurrency, mining is not used. Instead, blockchain transactions are validated by “epoch slot leaders.” These are the stake pools that are selected for the given five-day time periods – or epochs – Cardano uses, and they derive their power from everyone in the community who has delegated their Cardano ADA to said pool. Slot leaders are responsible for creating new Cardano blocks and validating them. In return for this work, the pool is awarded ADA coins to distribute to their stake pool members.
Cardano Staking Rewards
As a reward for their community assistance, those involved in staking Cardano ADA will earn passive income in the form of more tokens whenever their delegate pool validates a block. To get these rewards, however, you must delegate your ADA to a Cardano proof-of-stake pool such as ADA Strong or any of the authorized Cardano stake pools you find in your wallet’s delegation center.
This is effectively Cardano coin mining, and the Cardano staking rewards are granted in the form of more Cardano ADA tokens. Instead of only the owners of expensive servers getting all the rewards for block-building and validation, the ADA Cardano staking model allows everyone who owns ADA to contribute and benefit.
Cardano staking rewards are distributed automatically. You do not have to take any action to claim your rewards, they will just appear in your wallet. Rewards are earned at the end of each epoch, which lasts for 5 days.
Initially there will be some delays in when rewards begin appearing in wallets, but once things are running and more of the block building is taking place among the public stake pools, your POS rewards will flow into your wallet.
What Happens to My ADA When I Delegate My Cardano Stake?
When you delegate to a Stake Pool such as ADAStrong, your ADA stays right where it is, in your wallet. First and foremost, we want to convey that when you delegate your stake, you are NOT giving anyone access to or control of your ADA coins. Delegation is facilitated using the Ouroboros protocol. This is the very first provably secure proof of stake blockchain protocol, By design, the protocol protects your ADA from being accessed by any stake pool operator or member.
Your delegation essentially translates into a vote for a specific stake pool that you select to work on your behalf to contribute to the blockchain and earn Cardano staking rewards. When you delegate your stake, your ADA is not moved out of your wallet and is not tied up or locked while it is delegated. You can still trade it, sell it, spend it, or redelegate it at any time.
Cardano Staking Wallet Options
In order to delegate Cardano with a stake pool, you need to have a Cardano rewards wallet – that is, you’ll need a Cardano Wallet that is compatible with and supports the new Shelley protocol and which will guide you step-by-step in how to stake Cardano coins and how to join a Cardano pool.
As long as you have a solid, reputable, reliable wallet, you’ll be able to learn how to stake with Cardano quickly and securely. Currently, the best ADA Wallets for Cardano staking are Daedalus, Yoroi, and ADALite. You can also join a Cardano proof-of-stake pool from select online cryptocurrency exchanges.
How To Pick The Best Cardano Stake Pool
In the beginning, rankings and performance metrics will not be applicable due to the slow and strategic rollout of stake pool involvement. Even so, there are some distinct markers that will give some stake pools who have achieved certain benchmarks a leg up. Here are a few factors that you can use initially to determine the best Cardano stake pool options. We've also listed ADA Strong’s standing with the criteria evaluated.
Stake Pool Pledge
Have the stake pool operators pledged their own ADA to prove they are committed and have skin in the game?
ADA Strong has pledged 3 million ADA – so we have a significant investment in the success of our stake pool. This level of commitment ensures that we are laser-focused and giving our undivided attention to our nodes at all times as we work to make ADA Strong a premium rewards earner.
Technical Qualifications
Are the stake pool operators technically qualified to maintain the necessary performance benchmarks in order to ensure success with building blocks, including quality of servers, uptime, and know-how?
ADA Strong utilizes technologically advanced servers with specifications that exceed industry standards to power our node, including historically verified and reliable uptime. In addition, our team has extensive experience and knowledge with the technical side of programming and monitoring performance metrics to keep things running like a well oiled machine.
Active Stake
Is the stake pool attracting new delegates?
ADA Strong had an active stake of more than 40 million as early as Epoch 212, which is more than double the active stake we had during Epoch 211, so we are showing strong growth without being in danger of saturation.
Attracting new delegators is a vital part of the process as there are minimum thresholds that must be met for a pool to be selected as a slot leader and staying well above that threshold ensures being selected more often to build blocks.
The nature of the Cardano ecosystem will encourage the spread of delegation among the entire stake pool community as operators compete for your stake. ADA holders will bounce around and redelegate their ADA as they observe the performance success or failure within the different pools once rewards begin to flow.
We can promise you that we are committed to earning our stake pool members maximum benefits in the form of Cardano staking rewards. We are in it for the long haul, and are dedicated to working hard for you as we partner together to not only earn profitable rewards, but to join forces to change the world.
ADA Strong (ADAST) Blockchain Performance
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EPOCH 423
Blocks: 36
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EPOCH 424
Blocks: 31
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EPOCH 425
Blocks: 28
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EPOCH 426
Blocks: 27
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EPOCH 427
Blocks: 44
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EPOCH 428
Blocks: 31
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EPOCH 429
Blocks: 34
ADA Strong Lifetime Blocks
5630
We update this data at the close of each EPOCH and will display the stats from the most recent 7 EPOCHS because it gives a good picture of progress. You can review our live performance data in real-time here.
- ADA Strong Pool Ticker: ADAST
- Pool ID: e2eed9f58a161573050ab9324252b4fcccbf9fe06e1a034b6f91d748
- Pool Fees: 340 Minimum Fixed Fee Per Epoch And 5% Variable Fee
Lifetime ROS: 3.92%
ADA Strong 2 (ADAST) Blockchain Performance
This Stakepool Is No Longer Active As Of Epoch 351
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EPOCH 331
Blocks: 22
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EPOCH 332
Blocks: 18
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EPOCH 333
Blocks: 13
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EPOCH 334
Blocks: 11
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EPOCH 335
Blocks: 11
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EPOCH 336
Blocks: 15
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EPOCH 337
Blocks: 1
ADA Strong Lifetime Blocks
1702
IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ADAST2 DELEGATORS: Due to the fact that saturation thresholds are being lowered at a much slower rate than originally anticipated, we have determined that a second stake pool does not benefit our delegators at this time. We will increase rewards for everyone by consolidating our pools into one and increasing performance due to the higher level of delegation.
Anyone currently delegated to ADAST2 needs to move their stake over to ADAST before the completion of EPOCH 337. This will strengthen performance on ADAST, which already enjoys higher than average ROS.
We update this data at the close of each EPOCH and will display the stats from the most recent 8 EPOCHS because it gives a good picture of progress. You can review our live performance data in real-time here.
- ADA Strong Pool Ticker: ADAST
- Pool ID: 4366857b44e3464c961500ffa27dce993144f50bc06b50bb00da09a5
- Pool Fees: 345 Minimum Fixed Fee Per Epoch And 3.90% Variable Fee
Lifetime ROS: 4.56%
Cardano Staking FAQs
Cardano delegation is the method by which individual coin holders can delegate their ADA to staking pools and earn Cardano rewards based on the size and performance metrics of those pools.
Essentially, delegation is how the everyman “mines” Cardano (though this is technically done by the pools that earn slot leader status in each five-day epoch).
To learn how to stake ADA Cardano (i.e. mining Cardano ADA), we’ve outlined the specific steps you need to follow in detail above.
However, the process can be briefly outlined this way: Download an ADA wallet compatible with the Shelley update (Daedalus, Yoroi, ADALite), transfer your ADA to the wallet, and then use the wallet’s crypto delegation feature to delegate your ADA coins to the stakepool of your choice. Get incentivized rewards for participating.
Yes! To learn how to stake ADA coins using the Daedalus wallet, please follow the detailed instructions on this page.
There is no Cardano proof-of-stake minimum. You can transfer as much or as little ADA to a stake pool as you wish, and you may also put your ADA in multiple different stake pools at the same time. How many ADA to stake is thus entirely up to your discretion. To stake ADA to multiple stake pools, you will need to create multiple wallets.
You can stake your Cardano any time you like, and you can also remove your coins from delegation at any time. And remember, staking your ADA does not remove the coins from your wallet, so you always have full control over – and access to – your funds. You can even still spend your Cardano while it’s staked!
However, please note that whatever amount you spend from your Rewards wallet will be automatically deducted from your stake amount, reducing your reward potential.
Keep in mind that depending on the status of the current epoch when you make changes to your delegation, they may not be reflected until the current or next epoch closes.
When staking Cardano, rewards will be disbursed after every epoch, or every five days. Over the long run, the current model indicates that those who participate in ADA staking will earn a return of about 4.5% on their investment annually.
No. Paper wallets are offline crypto storage solutions. In order to take advantage of the Shelley fork and claim ADA rewards, you will have to put your ADA back online.
If you’re interested in how to earn Cardano through staking, you must first put your ADA in a compatible wallet or on a compatible exchange. It is possible this will change in the future as new
This is entirely up to you. We recommend ADA Strong for several reasons:
- Pledged amount of three million ADA coins
- High end dedicated technical resources
- Ability to attract new delegators
- Commitment to successfully earning rewards
- Dedication to making meaningful contributions to achieve true decentralization through the Cardano blockchain initiative and its world-changing financial infrastructure.
ADAStrong is dedicated to running as a completely transparent stake pool, offering live tracking of our performance data for all potential delegates.
All reputable stakepools will charge a nominal processing fee to carry some of the operational costs of running the node. This fee is only deducted from the rewards that the pool earns in each epoch. In other words, the pool’s fees are not derived from ADA delegates but are simply taken off the top before the remaining rewards are automatically disbursed proportionally among pool members.
All fees are clearly listed in the ticker box information for each pool as well as on pooltools.io and other similar sites.
ADA Strong delegation carries a 340 minimum fixed fee per Epoch, which is standard across most stake pools, and a 5% variable fee. These fees are not withdrawn from your ADA wallet but rather are applied prior to rewards disbursement.
Yes. When you delegate your ADA to a stake pool, you will pay a nominal transaction fee (the equivalent of a few cents in US dollars).
The very first time you delegate your stake you will also pay a 2 ADA deposit which is returned to you when you undelegate your funds.
Cardano’s Ouroboros protocol divides up its delegation staking rewards across five-day periods called epochs. These epochs are the periods during which different stake pools compete with one another to earn slot leader designation, which lets them create and validate new blocks.
ADA rewards are disbursed after every epoch.
We think so!
Of course, all cryptocurrencies carry some inherent risk, but Cardano is innovative and stable, seeing remarkable growth over the last several years. Today, Cardano is already one of the top 10 most traded cryptos in the world.
Of all the existing proof-of-stake coins, we believe Cardano offers by far the best and most sustainable implementation and the best opportunity for a truly decentralized ecosystem.
We also strongly support the many innovative uses that the Cardano blockchain can have in the smart contract, data storage, and digital asset security spaces, as well as the global benefits that can be realized by millions of people without financial identity.
However, we are not attempting to provide you with financial investment advice or tell you how to spend your hard-earned money. We are simply sharing why we believe Cardano is a good investment for ourselves.
In short, these are the two main models by which cryptocurrency blockchains are validated. Proof-of-work was pioneered by Bitcoin, where computers have to solve complex algorithms using raw processing power in a race to mine more BTC.
Proof-of-stake, which is the model Cardano is based on, is akin to mining, but this uses delegation to build up stake pools, with the most qualified pools having the power to validate blockchains and earn rewards for their delegates.
The technical aspects of Cardano’s delegate system and PoS platform have been five years in the making and can’t be explained in detail here. However, we have covered the basics above.
Simply put, Cardano’s proof-of-stake model allows ADA holders to delegate their ADA to larger collective pools. The bigger the pool, the greater its chance to become epoch slot leader, allowing it to build and validate more blocks on the blockchain and earn more rewards for its delegates.
To keep the platform decentralized, the biggest pools will experience temporary saturation and a proportional reduction in rewards, encouraging delegates to put their coins in other smaller pools. Once a portion of the pool members redelegate their stake, the pool resumes their status of earning larger rewards.
A Cardano proof-of-stake calculator is simply a calculator that shows you how much ADA you stand to make on a given pledge or delegation.
Some wallets have PoS calculators built-in, so you can see approximately how much new crypto you’ll acquire for a given amount pledged.