By staking crypto you can help secure the network and maintain its functionality. In return, the network rewards you with additional crypto or a share of the transaction fees generated within the network.

• Solana (SOL)
• Ethereum (ETH)
• Cardano (ADA)

Staking allows you to earn rewards by locking up crypto. The process varies slightly depending on the network and crypto you choose, each having its own requirements and bonding periods. Once you initiate the staking process, you won’t be able to sell that crypto. After the assets are bonded, they’ll begin receiving rewards for the duration of the staking period.

To stake crypto:

1. Select Get started with staking or Manage staking on the coin detail page of the individual crypto you hold and want to stake
2. Select the crypto you want to stake under Get started
3. Select Stake
4. Enter an amount to stake, either in USD or crypto amount and select Continue
5. Review details and select Stake to submit your request

You can only cancel a staking request while it’s still pending in our system and before it’s submitted to the blockchain. Once the on-chain bonding process begins, your crypto is locked and the staking request can’t be canceled. You’ll be able to request to unstake only after bonding is complete, and your assets will remain inaccessible until any required unbonding period has finished.

Keep in mind that each crypto may have a minimum amount (as little as $1) required for unstaking, and you’ll stop earning rewards on this amount once the crypto is unstaked.

To unstake crypto:

1. Select Manage staking in the Holdings section on the Portfolio tab
2. Select the crypto to unstake under Staked balance
3. Select Unstake
4. Enter the amount you want to unstake, either in USD or crypto amount and select Unstake
5. Review details and select Unstake to submit your unstaking request

To cancel a pending stake submission (before bonding starts):

1. Go to the coin detail page for the crypto with a pending stake submission
2. Scroll to History and select the transaction line item
3. Select Cancel staking request
4. Review and select Yes, cancel request

You can see your complete Reward history including any pending earnings by going to Account → Menu → History.

An estimated protocol rate is an estimate of the returns you might receive from staking with a particular crypto protocol. This rate reflects how much you could earn from staking your crypto through the protocol, based on current conditions and the rules set by the protocol.

Staking partner fee

Staking partner fees are the charges applied by a third-party service that Robinhood Crypto uses to facilitate the staking of your crypto. When you choose to stake your crypto through Robinhood Crypto, the process is managed by a specialized partner that provides the necessary technology and support. These fees, which the partner charges, may be a percentage of your staking earnings or a fixed rate, but no more than 2.75%. They compensate the partner for the services rendered in managing the staking process.

Robinhood Crypto fee

The total fee, made up of the staking partner's fee (which is no more than 2.75%) and Robinhood Crypto's fee, will be 25% of the annual percentage yield (APY) you earn. This means that 25% of your staking rewards will be deducted as fees before they’re added to your account.

Review our Fee Schedule for more information about the fees we charge.

While staking crypto with Robinhood offers potential rewards, it's important to understand the associated risks. Before you opt to stake crypto, we encourage you to review these risks:

• Unstaking time: Once you have staked your crypto, it will not be available for selling until you unstake it. The unstaking process can vary depending on the specific crypto asset. The duration for unstaking is often set by the underlying blockchain protocol. Crypto prices can be highly volatile, and the market value may significantly change by the time you successfully unstake.
• Protocol penalties: Some blockchain protocols enforce penalties (often referred to as "slashing") if the validators misbehave or fail to fulfill their duties. While rare, these penalties can lead to a loss of a portion of your staked crypto.
• No guarantee of rewards: Staking rewards depend entirely on the workings of the underlying protocol. Changes to protocol rules or network conditions can affect staking rewards, and there may be times when you might not receive any rewards. The rewards are calculated and distributed by the network, not by Robinhood Crypto.
• Validator concentration risk: Some networks have fewer validators helping to secure the system. This could make the network more dependent on a small group of participants, which may raise concerns about fairness and decentralization, even if it doesn’t directly affect your staking experience.

Staking crypto is currently unavailable in the following states:

• California
• Maryland
• New Jersey
• Wisconsin

Additionally, you may be unable to stake crypto if you:

• Are a US person for US tax purposes that certified with a Form W-9, but are subject to a B-Notice
• Are a non-US person for US tax purposes that certified with a Form W-8BEN

Generally, reward rates are dynamic and subject to change depending on current conditions. All advertised reward rates are estimated rates in the form of an APY that may change.

For SOL: Your rewards will begin to accrue after the bonding period is complete, and will equal the estimated protocol rate minus staking partner fees and Robinhood Crypto fees.

For ETH: Your rewards will begin to accrue once you stake, and will equal the average estimated protocol rate across all staked RHC customer ETH, minus staking partner fees and Robinhood Crypto fees.

For ADA: Your rewards will begin to accrue after the 15-day bonding period completes, and will equal the estimated protocol rate minus staking partner fees and Robinhood Crypto fees.

The reward is paid out in crypto.

You can also see your history, reward details, and upcoming payout dates for each individual coin by selecting Manage [Coin] staking from the staking hub.

The bonding period is the time it takes from when you submit your crypto to be staked to when you start earning rewards.

The bonding period varies depending on the crypto being staked. Different crypto and their respective blockchains have unique rules and timelines for how quickly staked assets are processed and begin accruing rewards.

The unbonding period is the time it takes to withdraw your crypto from the staking process. After you decide to unstake your crypto, you can't access it immediately. The unbonding period is a safety feature that helps prevent fraud and other security issues by ensuring that the staked crypto remains locked for a certain duration before being released back to you. This period allows the network to process the withdrawal securely and update the system to reflect the change in staked assets.

The unbonding period can vary depending on the specific crypto being staked. Each blockchain has its own set of rules and conditions for staking, which includes different durations for the unbonding period. This means the time it takes to withdraw your staked assets and stop earning rewards can change based on the crypto you choose to stake. It's important to check the specific staking conditions for each crypto to understand how long the unbonding period will be.

We’ll show you an estimated time range in the app (for example, “up to X days”). Most staking requests complete toward the shorter end of that range, but some can take the full period depending on network conditions and how many other customers are staking or unstaking at the same time. We can’t guarantee an exact time for any individual order, and your request may be longer or shorter than any external network queue you might see online.

When you stake, your request goes into a bonding process on the underlying blockchain. In normal conditions, this can complete in about a day, but at times it can take up to the full bonding period shown in the app, which may be several weeks. During bonding, your crypto is locked and your request can’t be canceled or sold.

Cardano (ADA) rewards are distributed according to the network's standard processing schedule. For your initial stake and any additional ADA you choose to stake, it can take approximately 15 days to receive your first reward payout due to the multi-step verification process required by the Cardano blockchain. Once this initial 15-day period is complete, your rewards will be distributed on a weekly basis.

ETH staking requires collecting batches of 32 ETH to activate a validator and begin staking. In order to ensure that you’re always earning when you stake your ETH, we’ll distribute rewards from batches of 32 across all customers with ETH that have been staked. As a result, you’ll get between 50% to 100% of the protocol rate.

Currently, we only support staking for Solana (SOL), Ethereum (ETH), and Cardano (ADA).

Proof of Stake (PoS) is a security protocol used by some crypto to validate transactions and manage the blockchain. Proof of Stake allows crypto holders to participate in network operations by staking some of their coins. This means they lock up a portion of their crypto to be chosen as a validator of transactions. The more crypto a person stakes, the higher their chances of being selected as a validator. Validators are then rewarded for their efforts in maintaining network integrity.

If you encounter issues or have questions about staking within your Robinhood Crypto app, you can contact support.

Please make sure you review the Robinhood Crypto Customer Agreement prior to staking crypto.

If you deactivate your default crypto account and you have staked crypto there, your staked positions may be force-unstaked as part of the deactivation process. You’ll have a limited time to decide what to do with any resulting holdings (for example, sell them, transfer them to another eligible account after reactivating, or take no action).