Staking is among the few ways to earn from cryptocurrencies and DeFi without doing much—-in fact, without doing any work. Staking is a process of locking cryptocurrencies (usually tokens native to the protocols) in a DeFi wallet to assist in validating transactions through a process called Proof of Stake (PoS).
Staking has evolved to be done exclusively as a protocol bound by smart contracts. This form of exclusive staking is known as liquidity staking. Liquidity staking is similar to yield farming, another smart contract, bound protocol where you participate through liquidity pool (LP) tokens.
This article focuses on the normal staking where you lock in your coins in a DeFi wallet for some time while earning interest rates, usually from transaction fees on the protocol. You’ll see 3 popular tokens, two are very popular, and one is a newcomer to the crypto market. They are Binance Coin (BNB), Polygon (MATIC), and Mehracki (MKI).
Advertisement
Staking Binance Coin (BNB); how it works, plus interest rates
Binance is a robust DeFi ecosystem with many products and offerings, including the largest crypto exchange, Binance Exchange. Binance is also home to one of the top 10 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation, BNB.
Binance has a staking launchpad allowing protocols running smart contracts on Binance network to create liquidity pools for staking. Our interest, however, is BNB staking, which is a protocol allowing BNB holders to lock their assets in Binance Wallet or Trust Wallet for BNB transaction validations.
Locking BNB tokens for a period, usually 30 days or more, attracts up to a 20% interest rate compounded in annual percentage yield (APY). Let’s say you stake $100 worth of BNB in Trust Wallet or Binance Wallet; you earn up to $120 after 30 days.
Advertisement
At the moment, the price of one bitcoin is approximately $23,229. Comparatively speaking, it appears that Binance Coin has grown more than Bitcoin. Binance was up 22% over the previous week as of the time of this writing, trading at $269.21.
2. Staking Polygon (MATIC); see interest rate
Polygon runs alongside Ethereum as a sidechain or layer-two network to facilitate a faster and low-cost transaction. Its native token, MATIC, can be used as smart money or gas for validating transactions on Polygon’s network.
Staking on Polygon happens in two steps: one for validators and the other for delegators. The validators invest their resources and assets (MATIC) and are assigned nodes to help validate transactions. The delegators are those who wish to use only their assets in supporting validation. Delegators give their nodes to validators, who earn some of the fees.
Interested stakers participate in the protocol by locking up their coins in a Polygon wallet, preferably Polygon Wallet V2. Stakers earn up to 14% interest rates which are compounded in APY.
Although there is no definite date to unlock coins, stakers may unlock their tokens at any time. The tokens undergo an unbinding phase (duration not specified) to allow the protocol to decide their rewards. Any suspicion of malicious activity during the unbinding period attracts a penalty, which may see your assets locked away forever.
3. Earn up to 15% interest rate staking Mehracki (MKI)
Mehracki is an ecosystem featuring a unique exchange token called MKI. The protocol was named after “meh,” which means “uninspiring or tiring,” in reference to the feeling of boredom experienced by enthusiasts in crypto space.
Advertisement
MKI is the primary resource used for staking. As an ERC20 wallet, you can participate in staking by using a MKI Ethereum supported DeFi wallet.
Mehracki offers up to 15% interest rates (compounded in APY) as staking rewards to holders of MKI who lock up their coins for 30 days or more. You will also get discounted trading rates and may qualify for Mehracki DAO governance.
Mehracki is a utility meme token and will be deflationary, meaning that there is a potentially huge future ahead for investors. You may also get started with its ongoing phase one presale.
Learn more below:
● Website: https://mehracki.io/
● Presale: https://buy.mehracki.io/register
