Staking means locking coins in a network that runs on proof of stake (proof-of-stake) in order to help it confirm transactions and earn a reward for doing so. It sounds like a deposit, but it works differently: income is not guaranteed, coins may be locked, and mistakes by a validator or a platform cost part of what you put in. Below: how staking works, using Ethereum and TON as examples, what methods exist and which risks you need to understand in advance. Data checked on 21 October 2026.
Important. This material is for information only and is not investment advice. Back in their joint statement of 2017, Ukraine’s financial regulators warned that there is no guarantee of getting back money invested in cryptocurrencies and that such savings are not covered by deposit guarantees. As of 21 October 2026, the Law of Ukraine on Virtual Assets No. 2074-IX is not yet in force (law card).
How Staking Works
According to ethereum.org, staking on Ethereum means depositing ETH to run a validator, a participant in consensus. Validators propose new blocks, check the work of others and vote for the correct state of the network. Running your own validator requires at least 32 ETH, and one validator can hold up to 2,048 ETH. The staked coins are a guarantee of honesty: to attack the network, one would need to control the majority of all staked ETH.
Honesty is enforced by penalties. A validator that goes offline loses rewards and small amounts of ETH, and a proven violation, such as signing two conflicting blocks, leads to slashing: part of the stake is destroyed and the validator is forcibly removed. Rewards, as MetaMask explains, consist of new ETH issued by the protocol, part of the transaction fees and MEV, the additional income from the order of transactions in a block.
TON works in a similar way: according to the Walt help center, the staking protocol delegates GRAM coins to validators, and at the end of each cycle they return them together with the reward. How much this comes to in annual percentage terms depends on the network and the day: as of 21 October 2026, ethereum.org shows a current ETH staking APR of 2.5%. This is a network indicator, not a promise: it changes, and the price of ETH itself can fall by more.
Ways to Stake
The further you move from running your own validator, the fewer the requirements and the more intermediaries stand between you and the network. Here is how ethereum.org compares the options:
| Method | Your keys | Minimum | Who pays the reward | Additional risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your own validator (home staking) | Yes, both for signing and for withdrawals | 32 ETH | The protocol directly | Penalties for downtime and slashing; you need a computer online almost 24/7 |
| Delegated (staking as a service) | Partly: withdrawal keys are usually with you, signing keys with the operator | 32 ETH | The protocol; the operator charges a fee | Operator risk |
| Liquid or pooled staking | No: you receive a receipt token | Any amount, from 0.01 ETH in some pools | The protocol’s smart contracts | Smart contract bugs, a fall in the receipt token’s price, rule changes |
| Centralized exchange or platform | No: the coins are in the platform’s custody | Any amount | The platform, on its own terms | The greatest trust in an intermediary |
What It Looks Like in Practice
- Custodial program. In GRAM Earn in Walt (Telegram), the service itself stakes an amount equivalent to your contribution on the TON network and distributes the rewards received. The minimum is 0.1 GRAM, the reward accrues daily starting from the first full day after the deposit, and you can withdraw at any time. The APY changes daily and is not guaranteed, verification is required, and the program is unavailable in some regions (Walt help center).
- Non-custodial protocol. GRAM Earn in the DeFi Account of the same app is Tonstakers liquid staking: a minimum of 1 GRAM, a network fee of 0.02 to 1.4 GRAM, and in return you receive the tsTON token. You can withdraw instantly if there is enough liquidity in the reserve, or at a better rate within up to 18 hours (Walt help center).
- Through a wallet. MetaMask offers pooled ETH staking for any amount, liquid staking through Lido or Rocket Pool, and validator staking from 32 ETH (MetaMask help center).
Not every “Earn” is staking. WhiteBIT, for example, describes its Crypto Lending as lending assets to the exchange under a chosen plan with a rate and a term (WhiteBIT help center). It is a different product with different risks: the income depends on the exchange, not on the work of validators. Before investing, find out what exactly happens to your coins.
What Risks Staking Carries
- Slashing. According to ethereum.org (updated 28 September 2026), a validator with 32 ETH immediately has 0.0078125 ETH burned, then a 36-day removal period follows, and on day 18 a penalty is added that grows with the number of validators penalized at the same time. Isolated slashing takes a small share; mass slashing can take up to the entire stake.
- Downtime penalties. A validator that misses votes loses as much as it would have earned for voting. If the network fails to reach finality for a long time, an “inactivity leak” kicks in: the stake of inactive validators gradually melts away.
- Lockups and queues. The network sees a deposit in about 13 minutes, but new validators wait in the activation queue for anywhere from hours to weeks; exiting also goes through a queue (ethereum.org). After exit, the funds still have to be “picked up” by the protocol: ethereum.org estimates the full cycle of such payouts at several days, and MetaMask explains that these delays exist for network security (help center).
- Receipt token risk. A liquid token may trade below the staked coins, especially in times of panic, and redemption through the protocol depends on the available liquidity. On top of that come the risks of smart contracts and of rule changes, on which the token holder usually has no vote (ethereum.org).
- Platform risk. On an exchange or in a custodial service, you do not hold the keys. ethereum.org separately warns about “opaque” products where it is impossible to verify what exactly, if anything, has been staked on your behalf. Walt states directly that it does not control the TON network and is not responsible for its operation.
- Coin price. The reward accrues in the same coin. If the coin loses value faster than your balance grows, you lose in hryvnia terms.
Risk. Promises of a fixed high return are a red flag. MetaMask advises: if you are offered 498,563% APY, it is most likely a scam (MetaMask tips). Other schemes are covered in Cryptocurrency Fraud.
What to Check Before Staking
- Who holds the keys: you, the protocol or the platform.
- What kind of product it is: staking on the network, liquid staking or a loan to the platform.
- How income accrues: a variable rate, from which day, in which coin, whether a fee is deducted.
- How long the exit takes: network queues, the liquidity reserve, the plan’s term.
- Whether the program is available in your country and what verification it requires.
- Where the coins will be stored after exit. For wallets, see How to Create a Crypto Wallet and How to Store Crypto.
Law and Taxes
There is no special regulation of staking in Ukraine yet: Law No. 2074-IX is not yet in force, and as of 21 October 2026, bill No. 10225-d has the status “Being prepared for second reading” (bill card). We covered what is currently known about the taxation of income in cryptocurrency in Cryptocurrency Taxes in Ukraine in 2026. You can buy coins for staking using the methods from our articles on ETH and on TON (Gram).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I lose money on staking?
Yes. The coin’s price may fall, a validator may be penalized or slashed, and a platform or a smart contract may fail. Staking is not a bank deposit, and deposit guarantees do not apply to it.
How many coins do I need to start?
For your own Ethereum validator, 32 ETH. Through pools you can start from 0.01 ETH, and through exchanges and custodial services from the minimum they set: in GRAM Earn in Walt it is 0.1 GRAM, in the protocol in DeFi Account it is 1 GRAM.
Can I take my coins back at any time?
It depends on the method. With your own validator, exiting goes through the network queue. A liquid token can be sold right away, but possibly at a lower price. Custodial programs have their own rules: Walt, for example, lets you withdraw GRAM from Earn at any time.
What is the difference between APR and APY?
APR is an annual rate that does not account for reinvestment; APY takes into account that the reward also earns a reward. Walt writes that the APY in its program changes daily and a specific amount is not guaranteed.
Are staking and a crypto deposit the same thing?
No. In staking, the coins work to validate the network, while in lending you lend them to a platform on its terms. The risks are different, so read the product description, not just the name of the section.
