© 2026 Della Group. All Rights Reserved.
Here's the deal: Staking your APT tokens is basically locking them up to help secure the Aptos network, and in return, you get rewards. Like, passive income without selling your bags. Right now, you're looking at around 7% APY, but it drops over time-starts at 7%, then dips 1.5% each year down to 3.25% after like 50 years. Why does this matter? More people stake, rewards spread thinner. I usually stake mine 'cause it's set it and forget it money.
The thing is, Aptos runs on proof of stake. You delegate to a validator who does the heavy lifting-running nodes, validating blocks. They take a cut, usually 3% or so, but you still pocket most of the rewards. Auto compounded every epoch too. Epochs last 2 hours. Super frequent.
Okay, step zero: you need a wallet. Petra's the go to for most folks. Download it as a browser extension-Chrome, Firefox, whatever. Martian works too, or Pontem if you're fancy. Hardware? Ledger pairs with Petra nicely for extra safety. In my experience, Petra's dead simple.
Install it. Create a new wallet or import if you got one. Write down that seed phrase-hide it good, don't screenshot. Sound familiar? Yeah, basics.
One catch: Make sure Aptos chain is visible. In Petra, go to Manage Chain Visibility, search APT, tick it, save. Done.
Now, get tokens. Buy on Binance, Coinbase, Kraken-wherever. Withdraw to your wallet address. Copy it carefully, test with a tiny amount first if you're nervous.
Minimum to stake? 11 APT. But keep extra, like 0.01 or so for fees. Gas on Aptos is cheap-~0.0009 APT per tx. I always leave a buffer. Transfer from exchange takes minutes usually.
Fees get burned, not paid to anyone. Keeps the network clean. No crazy spikes like Ethereum days.
Look, don't just stake anywhere. Validators need at least 1,000,000 APT total stake to be "active." Below that? No rewards for you. Max per pool is 50M, but that's for them, not you.
Check Aptos Explorer or Stake Guru. Sort by APY, uptime, commission (aim under 5%). Everstake, Stakely, Nansen, Stakin-solid ones. Everstake charges 3%. I go for low commission, high uptime. Why? Their performance directly hits your rewards.
| Validator | Commission | Min Stake | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Everstake | 3% | 11 APT | Easy dashboard, ~1 day to activate |
| Stakin | ~3-5% | 11 APT | Petra native, quick |
| Nansen | Low | 10.1 APT | Analytics backed |
| P2P.org | Varies | 11 APT | Explorer direct |
Active? Green light. Pending? Skip it. Check weekly-validators can jail or drop out. Lost rewards suck.
Ready? Let's do this. I'll walk you through Everstake 'cause it's straightforward, but same for others.
Your stake activates next epoch-2 hours max. Rewards kick in after. For Stakin, go stakin.com/stake/aptos, same flow.
What's next? Monitor on their page or Aptos Explorer. See staked balance, rewards accruing.
Rewards auto compound per epoch. End of epoch, payout adds to principal. Next one calculates on the new total. Pretty much free money growing on itself.
Current rate ~7%. Stake 100 APT for a year? Use a calculator-expect ~7 APT back, minus validator cut. But it fluctuates with total staked amount. More stakers, lower APY.
In my experience, don't chase 11% promises-real is 6-7% net. Centralized like Kraken or Binance? Easier, but lower yields (3-5%) and you don't control keys.
Want out? Click Unstake on dashboard. Min 10 APT partial. But remaining must be over 10.001 APT or it unstakes all. Enters unlock period-up to 30 days, depends on validator epoch. No rewards during unlock. Plan ahead.
Example: 13 APT staked, unstake 3? Leaves 10-fine. Unstake 3.9? Leaves 9.1-triggers full unstake. Annoying, right?
Staking ain't risk free. Validator goes offline? Miss rewards. Slashing? Rare on Aptos, but possible for bad actors-your stake safe usually, just no payout.
Big one: Pick inactive pool. Solution? Monitor. Tools like Staking Rewards dashboard show active status.
Honestly, safest bet is non custodial like Petra + good validator. No KYC, your keys.
Once in, dashboard shows everything: staked amount, rewards earned, APY. Rewards per epoch, so check daily if you want.
Add more? Just stake again-adds to pool. I do this monthly with new buys. Compound faster.
Governance? Staked APT lets you vote proposals. Extra perk, no reward hit.
Bored? Plug numbers into Aptos staking calc. Stake 1000 APT at 7% for 1 year: ~70 APT rewards. But factor validator fee-say 3%, nets ~68.
Or try scenarios: What if APY drops to 5%? Still beats bank 0.01%.
| Stake Amount | APY | 1 Year Rewards (pre fee) |
|---|---|---|
| 100 APT | 7% | 7 APT |
| 500 APT | 7% | 35 APT |
| 1000 APT | 7% | 70 APT |
| 100 APT | 5% (future) | 5 APT |
These are estimates. Network changes 'em.
Not ready for wallets? Centralized spots.
Kraken: Buy, stake in app. ~5% APY. Easy.
Binance: Up to 5.6%. But custody risk.
Uphold: 3.75%. Simple for US folks.
Tradeoff: Convenience vs control and yield. I prefer self custody, but start central if new.
Button grayed? Under 11 APT.
No rewards day 1? Wait epoch.
Tx fails? Check balance, network.
Lost wallet? Seed recovers stake.
One time, I staked to a sketchy pool-zero uptime. Switched next day. Lesson: Research.
© 2026 Della Group. All Rights Reserved.