Polkadot is a blockchain protocol that facilitates cross-chain communication and interoperability by connecting multiple blockchains into a unified network.
There’re various ways to earn profits by holding DOT, in which staking DOT is the way to support the Polkadot network as well as receive daily rewards.
There are two methods to stake DOT:
- No.1: Staking on the exchange: Kraken, Binance, Kucoin
- No.2: Staking at personal wallet on Polkadot.js
For the first method, it's easy and doesn't require hard steps. However, that amount of DOT will be held by the exchange, which causes many risks.
For the second method, more complex operations are required. This article will show you how to stake and be a Nominator on the Polkadot network system.
First, you must have a personal wallet on Polkadot.js. Read the following article to create your wallet.
Now we need to prepare for the Staking Process. This step will require two Polkadot personal wallets.
- Wallet 1 (Stash): This is the main wallet for storing DOT (we named it LEDGER)
- Wallet 2 (Controller): This is used to navigate the main wallet participating in different functions of Polkadot ecosystem (For instance: Vote, Validator, Nominator, etc)
Staking Polkadot (DOT) includes two parts:
- First part: Bonding DOT
- Second part: Become a Nominator to receive interest from staking
Part 1: Bonding DOT
After creating 2 wallets, go to the wallet homepage: https://polkadot.js.org/apps/#/accounts
Go to Network and select the Staking tab. On the main Staking page, switch to the Account actions tab and press the “Stash” button – a new table will appear as below
- In the "Stash account" section, select the wallet that is storing $DOT,
- In the “Controller account” section, select the Controller wallet (which is your navigation wallet)
- In the "Value bonded", enter the amount of DOT you want to stake. The locking period is 28 days from the point of staking. It's only after this time that you can withdraw the staked DOT.
- In the “Payment destination” section, select the wallet that will claim $DOT (should keep the wallet stash)
- Click “Bond” to go to the next step
If you completed the process and there are no errors that occur, it will display as below.
So we have finished bonding $DOT on the Polkadot network. Next, we will learn how to become a Nominator.
Part 2: Choose Validator
In the “Staking overview” tab, select a Validator you want to nominate.
For example, select a Validator named “Polkadot.pro-realgar” and click on the name to copy the address of the Validator.
Go to the Account actions tab and click the “Nominate” button
When a new table appears, enter the wallet address of the Validator that was just copied into the blank box, the name of that Validator will appear in the candidate accounts section.
Click on the Validator displayed in the "Candidate accounts" section to switch the Validator from "Candidate accounts" to "Nominated accounts".
Click “Nominate” (After completing the steps and there are no error occurs, the web will be displayed as below)
Currently, you need to wait a short time for the Validator to confirm your Nominator request (the time depends on the Validator, and your request might even be denied).
Note: In case your Nominator request is denied, choose another Validator.
Once your request is confirmed, it will be displayed as given below
Thus, your Staking DOT process is completed. DOT reward will be paid daily.
And here are the rewards after 3 days of staking:
If you still have questions about staking, join Discord to discuss more: https://discord.gg/k2VMF5a