How do you stake Cardano (ADA)?

You stake Cardano by delegating your ADA to a stake pool, a server run by an operator that produces blocks on the network. You can do it from a self-custody wallet, through a Ledger hardware wallet or on an exchange that offers staking. Cardano's design, covered in what is Cardano, means the ADA stays in your wallet and can be spent at any time.

How do you stake Cardano from a wallet?

Cardano.org describes three steps:

1. Connect a wallet. Most current self-custody Cardano wallets support delegation, either inside the app or through a pool explorer.
2. Choose a pool. Compare pools using the measures below.
3. Sign one transaction. It carries a small fee and, for a new stake key, a deposit. The Cardano developer docs put that deposit at 2 ADA, refunded if you deregister.

Delegation becomes active two epochs after you sign. If the pool produces blocks, the first rewards arrive about 15 to 20 days after delegating, then every epoch, which lasts about five days. Rewards are added to your stake automatically.

To withdraw rewards to your spendable balance, your stake key must also have an active vote delegation. Cardano.org says you can delegate to a DRep (an elected governance representative) or pick abstain or no confidence. Rewards keep building either way.

How do you choose a Cardano stake pool?

Cardano.org suggests comparing:

• Performance. How reliably the pool has produced its expected blocks, judged over a long period.
• Saturation. Pools holding more than the ideal amount of stake pay delegators less. The developer docs say saturation is total stake divided by a target of 500 pools.
• Margin fee. The share of rewards the operator keeps.
• Fixed fee. A per-epoch charge that must be at least the protocol minimum.
• Pledge. ADA the operator commits. A pool that falls short of its declared pledge earns nothing that epoch.

You can switch pools at any time. A switch takes effect two epochs later, and the old pool keeps paying for three more payouts.

How do you stake Cardano on Ledger?

Ledger's guide uses Ledger Live on desktop. You open your Cardano account, select Stake, enter the amount to delegate, and pick the Ledger by Figment validator or another pool. You then open the Cardano app on the device, check the details and confirm with both buttons. Ledger says mobile support was still to come. Device risks are covered in is Ledger safe.

How do you stake Cardano on Coinbase?

On Coinbase, the exchange holds the ADA and stakes it for you. Coinbase says Cardano staking is available only where staking is allowed and that rewards are not guaranteed. Its staking eligibility page lists a $1 minimum for ADA, rewards paid every five days, no protocol unstaking period and up to 48 hours of Coinbase processing to unstake. Coinbase also checks eligibility daily and can change requirements.

Staking rewards are generally taxable in the US, as explained in is crypto staking taxable. Crypto prices are volatile, and staking rewards can be outweighed by a fall in ADA's value.