Everything you need to know about staking Cosmos (ATOM) from your Exodus wallet and claiming ATOM staking rewards!
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In this article:
What is Cosmos (ATOM) staking?
On Cosmos, staking means you agree to lock up an amount of your ATOM for a certain period of time, during which you can't send or swap it. However, you can unstake your ATOM whenever you choose.
By staking your ATOM, you actively support the Cosmos network by allocating resources to it, thus contributing to its stability. Staking allows you to earn ATOM rewards, which can be claimed from your Exodus wallet.
Tutorial video: How to stake Cosmos (ATOM)
Staking Cosmos (ATOM) FAQs
What happens when I stake my ATOM?
Staking your ATOM means pledging an amount of your ATOM to a validator. This makes you a delegator.
Cosmos validators validate and approve transactions on the Cosmos blockchain. The more ATOM delegated to a validator, the more transactions they get to validate. By delegating your tokens to the validator, you are voting for and signaling your trust in them.
The more transactions a validator validates, the more rewards they earn. From the earned rewards, they give back to all the people who delegated their ATOM to them. This is how you earn rewards on your staked ATOM.
How does staking ATOM work?
When you stake your ATOM, you can choose how much of your ATOM you want to delegate to the validator.
You can stake any amount of ATOM, and your rewards will start to accumulate right away. During this time, you can only perform transactions with unstaked ATOM in your wallet.
Whenever you stake ATOM, Exodus will reserve a minimum 0.077 ATOM that stays unstaked in your wallet. This ensures that you have enough ATOM available to pay for the network transaction fees when you wish to unstake.
Staking new ATOM will automatically claim any unclaimed rewards, which will incur a network transaction fee.
Which validator will I be delegating my funds to?
When you stake your ATOM in Exodus, you will be delegating funds to our third-party staking API provider Everstake.
Where can I find the APY for staking ATOM?
To learn more about Annual Percentage Yield (APY), please visit: What is APY?
You can view the current approximate APY in your ATOM wallet.
Mobile
Your ATOM stake section will show a) your current APY and b) your APY if you choose to enable auto restaking on Mobile.
Desktop
Your ATOM wallet section will show your current APY in the top left corner.
Does Exodus charge a fee to stake ATOM?
You will pay network transaction fees when staking ATOM. These fees are not kept by Exodus, but to the Cosmos network.
You will pay a transaction fee for sending the delegation transaction when you stake your ATOM and whenever you stake additional ATOM.
You will also pay a transaction fee to claim ATOM rewards.
You will need to wait to claim your ATOM rewards until you have earned enough to cover the network transaction fee, because the transaction fee is deducted from the rewards.
Enabling auto restaking charges a network transaction fee to register the auto restaking request to the network. However, if you enable auto restaking, you won't pay transaction fees when your rewards are automatically restaked. Disabling auto restaking also charges a network transaction fee.
For further information on network transaction fees, you can read our article Does Exodus have transaction fees to send and receive?
What is the minimum amount I need to start staking?
A minimum balance of 0.077 ATOM is required before staking. This is enough to ensure you can stake as well as pay Cosmos transaction fees.
The minimum balance of 0.077 ATOM can't be staked. You can stake any amount above 0.077 ATOM.
When will I start earning rewards?
You will start to earn rewards on your ATOM as soon as you stake it.
If you opt into auto restaking, your rewards will automatically be restaked once they reach 0.25 ATOM.
If you choose not to enable auto restaking, you can claim your ATOM rewards manually as long as the amount of the rewards is greater than the claim transaction fee.
Is staking ATOM safe?
Staking your ATOM is done in a self-custodial way in Exodus. That means it is as safe as holding ATOM in your wallet.
You're free to unstake your funds whenever you choose, although it will take 21 days before your ATOM is available to send or swap.
How do I stake ATOM?
Mobile
Staked ATOM is locked, and can't be sent or swapped. To send or swap your ATOM, you'll need to unstake it. ATOM takes 21 days to finish unstaking.
In Exodus Mobile, a) tap the Profile icon, then b) tap Staking.
Tap Cosmos.
Tap Stake ATOM.
a) Enter the amount of ATOM you want to stake, then b) tap Stake ATOM.
You will be prompted to confirm the amount. To proceed, tap Stake.
Your ATOM has now been staked! On the confirmation screen, you can toggle on auto restaking, or tap Continue to return to your ATOM wallet.
Desktop
Staked ATOM is locked, and can't be sent or swapped. To send or swap your ATOM, you'll need to unstake it. ATOM takes 21 days to finish unstaking.
In Exodus Desktop, click the Rewards app.
Navigate to where it says Cosmos and then click Explore.
a) Enter the amount of ATOM you want to stake, then b) click Stake ATOM.
How does auto restaking work?
If you enable Auto Restaking, your earned ATOM rewards will automatically be restaked. This means you can continue to compound your rewards and increase your staking APY without manually claiming and restaking your ATOM rewards.
When auto restaking is enabled, your rewards will automatically be restaked when you have at least 0.25 ATOM in unclaimed rewards. Your wallet will check for this once a week, on Mondays around 21 UTC. If you have more than 0.25 ATOM in unclaimed rewards, they will automatically be restaked.
To enable auto restaking incurs a network transaction fee. However, you won't pay any transaction fees when your rewards are restaked.
While auto restaking is active, you won't be able to claim your rewards manually. If you would prefer to manage your ATOM rewards manually, you can disable auto restaking at any time.
Auto restaking will expire after 1 year, at which point you will be prompted to enable it again.
How do I enable auto restaking my ATOM rewards?
Mobile
In Exodus Mobile, a) tap the Profile icon, then b) tap Staking.
Tap Cosmos.
Toggle on Auto Restaking.
To confirm, tap Enable.
Enabling auto restaking will incur a network transaction fee.
To disable, a) toggle off Auto Restaking, then b) tap Disable to confirm.
Disabling auto restaking will incur a network transaction fee.
Desktop
In Exodus Desktop, click the Rewards app.
Navigate to where it says Cosmos (ATOM), then click Overview.
Click on the Auto Restaking toggle to enable it.
Enabling auto restaking will incur a network transaction fee.
To confirm, click Enable.
To disable, a) click off the Auto Restaking toggle. To confirm, b) click Disable.
Disabling auto restaking will incur a network transaction fee.
How does unstaking work?
When you decide to unstake your ATOM, you can choose the amount you want to unstake.
That amount will become unbonding, and you will need to wait 21 days to be able to use it again. This unstaked ATOM does not earn rewards for the 21-day unbonding period.
If you have any unclaimed rewards, unstaking will claim them automatically.
You can, at most, unstake 7 times from any given validator in a 21-day period. If you try to unstake more than that, the unstake transaction will fail. You must wait for one of the previous unstaking entries to expire.
How do I unstake ATOM?
Mobile
In Exodus Mobile, a) tap the Profile icon, then b) tap Staking.
Tap Cosmos.
Tap Unstake ATOM.
a) Enter the amount of ATOM you want to unstake, then b) tap Unstake ATOM.
When you unstake ATOM, the unstaked amount becomes unbonding and you will need to wait for 21 days before you can send the ATOM you unstaked.
You can unstake 7 times from any given validator in a 21-day period. If you try to unstake more times, the unstake transaction will fail. You must wait for one of the previous unstaking entries to expire.
Desktop
In Exodus Desktop, click the Rewards app.
Navigate to where it says Cosmos, then click Overview.
a) Click the Unstake tab at the top, b) enter the amount of ATOM you want to unstake, and then c) click Unstake ATOM.
When you unstake ATOM, the unstaked amount begins unbonding. You will need to wait for 21 days before you can send the ATOM you unstaked.
You can unstake 7 times from any given validator in a 21-day period. If you try to unstake more times, the unstake transaction will fail. You must wait for one of the previous unstaking entries to expire.
How do I claim ATOM rewards?
Mobile
In Exodus Mobile, a) tap the Profile icon, then b) tap Staking.
Tap Cosmos.
Tap Claim Reward.
To finish claiming your rewards, tap Claim.
Claiming ATOM rewards will incur a network transaction fee.
Desktop
In Exodus Desktop, click on the Rewards app.
Navigate to where it says Cosmos, then click on Get reward.
a) Click the Claim Reward tab, then b) click Claim Reward.
Claiming rewards will incur a network transaction fee.
