How to Stake ADA

Step 1: Open your wallet's staking tab

In Eternl, click the percentage icon in the left sidebar to open the Staking view. In Lace, navigate to Staking from the main menu. In Vespr on mobile, tap the Earn tab at the bottom of the screen.

Step 2: Find a stake pool

Use the pool search field to find a pool by name or ticker. If you want help evaluating pools, visit pool.pm or adapools.org in a separate tab. Look for a pool that is below 90% saturation, has a margin of 0-3%, reasonable pledge, and a consistent block production history. Avoid newly created pools with no history unless you have a specific reason to support them.

Step 3: Delegate

Click your chosen pool and select Delegate (or Stake in Lace). If this is your first time staking, you will see a 2 ADA staking key registration fee — this is a one-time refundable deposit, not a fee you lose. The transaction fee for delegation is approximately 0.17 ADA. Confirm the transaction with your spending password or hardware wallet button.

Step 4: Wait for your first reward

Your delegation becomes active at the start of the next epoch (epochs change every 5 days). Due to a 2-epoch delay built into the protocol, your first reward lands approximately 15-20 days after your delegation. After that, rewards appear in your staking account every 5 days automatically — no action required.

You can check your current delegation and reward balance in the Staking tab of your wallet. Rewards accumulate in your staking account and are added to your delegated balance, compounding over time.

Epoch timing and liquid staking

Cardano epochs run from midnight UTC on specific dates — you can check the current epoch number and time remaining on pooltool.io or cardanoscan.io. There is no lockup period: you can send, spend, or move your ADA at any time while it is staked. Delegation updates automatically when your balance changes.