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How to stake crypto and earn money?

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staking guide

Crypto staking, yield farming, and lending are some of the popular passive income methods. Many crypto exchanges have developed unique stake products like Simple Earn which combine staking and other strategies like liquidity farming to increase the rewards for users. Users also have the option to proceed with dedicated staking products which offer relatively lower APY rates than Simple Earn products. In this article, we will explore how you can earn money with delegate staking method.

Staking Process

In delegate staking, you simply deposit your crypto assets in a staking product. Many crypto exchanges and specialized staking platforms offer various staking products with specific APY (Annual Percentage Yield) and specific risks. You can also get different APY for same type of product on different platforms. That’s why, research prior to investment is crucial. Here’s the step-by-step process.

  1. Choosing the Crypto for Investment

Don’t focus on platforms which offer most products with highest APY rates, rather focus on the platforms which offer specific coins which you want to stake. Identify a number of crypto which can be staked and have long-term bullish trend. Market events can affect the price of crypto. Research about these events, combined with analysis of price trends using charts and indicators, would be helpful.

  • Choose the Best Staking Platform

Both centralized and decentralized exchanges alongside specialized staking platforms offer the delegate staking service for a variety of coins. Once you have decided which cryptocurrencies you want to stake, then choose the platform which offers highest APY rate for these coins. OKX and Figment.io are among the best platforms that can be used for staking.

  • Depositing Your Crypto

Sign in into your desired platform and go to the staking section. In case, you are using OKX platform, you need to go to “Earn” section. Next step is to select the coin you want to stake and you will be provided different earning options with fixed or flexible terms. You can subscribe staking option if available or choose Simple Earn which is a combination of staking and other strategies deployed by the OKX platform to help users earn passive income.

okx staking

Many crypto exchanges like Binance and OKX also provide dedicated staking service for ETH. In that case, you may need to deposit your ETH coins to receive BETH which is a tokenized representation of staked ETH. After period of time depending on lock-up period, your BETH will grow in amount due to addition of rewards. Then you can redeem these assets.

Utilize Staking Rewards Calculators

The Staking Calculator is a popular tool for estimating staking rewards after specific period of time. You can give inputs like type of coin, APY rate, duration and amounts of coins. While some staking calculators do not give option to set custom APY, the calculator provided by Figment.io gives that option but has limited coins.

Crypto exchanges like Binance and some dedicated staking platforms also offer stake rewards calculators but they use specific APY rate for each crypto available in their stake products.

Risk Management

Even if you have chosen those cryptocurrencies having long-term bullish trend to safeguard your stake rewards, still managing the risk during the staking process is necessary. You can choose flexible staking option for some coins which have more uncertain price movements so you can redeem your assets in case of bearish trend or market downfall. Having some portion of your investment in staked USDT or other reliable stablecoins and some portion of investment in bullish coins guarantees better chances of high profits. Crypto market uncertainty always remains there, so calculating precisely how much you would potentially lose in case, those perceived “bullish coins” start falling in value, and how much you would earn, is part of the proper risk management. Specifically, in this staking strategy, you also need to observe performance of underlying blockchains for which you are staking coins, and also any changes in APY rates because these rates are often dynamic and may change depending on active number of validators for blockchain, network upgrades, coin demand or price and other factors.

Conclusion

Crypto exchanges and dedicated staking platforms simplify the stake process for crypto users through delegate staking services, where users delegate their assets to validators. Staking involves depositing your assets into specific products to earn crypto rewards after a period of time depending on APY rate and stake terms. A recommended strategy is diversified investment which involves staking multiple cryptocurrencies including stablecoins, to earn good profits. However, it is important to anticipate and understand all kinds of risks such as market volatility, and change in APY rates.

The recent developments in Uniswap, the largest DeFi platform, and bullish trend of UNI token

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defi crypto

Uniswap Increasing Popularity and Growth

Uniswap, being the largest decentralized exchange, has grown significantly in recent years. Its trade volume has increased significantly fuelled by increasing adoption of its DeFi services and UNI token. This DeFi platform built on Ethereum in 2018, has always been largest DEX in terms of trade volume. And recently, according to Uniswap Labs, this platform reached total of $2 trillion in trade volume which is a significant milestone.

The automated market maker (AMM) model that Uniswap introduced, made crypto trading easier while also providing opportunities for liquidity farming. Uniswap established strategic partnerships with platforms including Aave, Balancer, Chainlink, etc. which resulted in complex financial products and also increased adoption of Uniswap services. Yield optimization by using Uniswap and Aave allows users to earn trade fees from Uniswap and interest from Aave. The upgrades like Layer 2 integration by Uniswap to reduce gas fees and increase scalability, also contributed to increased trade activity in Uniswap.

Latest Developments

In the last quarter of 2023, Uniswap was deployed on Moonbeam network, which is a parachain built in Polkadot ecosystem. Through this integration, Uniswap community can enjoy benefits provided by interoperable environment of Polkadot. For example, option to choose from multiple fee tiers, ability to concentrate liquidity in specific price ranges and low transaction costs are major benefits.

Uniswap also developed a mobile wallet app for android users so they can swap tokens through their smartphones. Swap protection to counter sandwich attacks and frontrunning, and multi-chain swapping, are prominent features of this app.

In Q4 of 2023, Uniswap Labs also announced plans for Uniswap v4 which would have better functionalities compared to v3, aimed at improving platform’s efficiency. Later, many features were revealed including new types of smart contracts called hooks to enhance customizability of liquidity pools for developers, singleton contract model for reducing gas fees, flash accounting system for streamlining complex transactions, unlimited fee tiers for liquidity pools, and highly optimized smart contracts to improve transaction speed. The announcement of v4 played a crucial role in increasing UNI price.

Recently in Q1 of 2024, Uniswap also revealed its financial status which includes $41.41 million in fiat and stablecoins and 730,000 UNI tokens. According to Uniswap, these are designated for employee incentives, operational activities, and grants.  The foundation is also preparing for a community vote on a new fee mechanism, with the aim to reallocate rewards from liquidity providers to token holders. Meanwhile, Uniswap faces regulatory challenges from the SEC, which issued a Wells Notice alleging violations of securities laws regarding UNI and LP tokens, a claim disputed by Uniswap Labs.

Price Surge of UNI Token

With the start of 2024, UNI price has increased significantly. From 26th December 2023 to 7th March 2024, price increased from $6.9 to $15.39 which is an increase of 123%. The major reason behind this surge was the increased investor confidence caused by announcement of v4. Other developments like integration of Uniswap with zkSync, a layer 2 solution, and increasing adoption of DeFi services also sustained long-term upward trend for UNI price. While price decreased to $7 in May and later reached $9 in June. These fluctuations may be caused by shift in investor sentiments, and broader crypto market movements influenced by regulations, and technology upgrades for blockchains like Ethereum.

uni price

Is UNI worthy for investment?

Given the increasing popularity of Uniswap fuelled by its strategic partnerships, expansion of services, and the its technology developments, Uniswap has always gained attention from large DeFi community. Many crypto users invest in UNI token to access the features provided by Uniswap and also to earn money through yield farming. Experts estimate a bullish trend for UNI, basing their prediction on large upgrades like v4 and also on the fact that Uniswap has sustained dominant position in DeFi. UNI token may also experience fluctuations as the charts reveal resistance levels at $10. Before doing investment in UNI token, you must take into account risk factor like fluctuations in price. Market research is necessary prior to investment.

Best practices to ensure security of your crypto assets?

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crypto wallet

In this article about best practices to ensure security of your crypto assets? Being a crypto trader, you have to ensure that your assets are safe. In this article, we will explore some of the best practices that you should use to ensure safety of your assets.

Are crypto exchanges secure?

When you trade on centralized crypto exchanges, the company is responsible for the custody and security of your crypto assets. Their security protocols also depend on how much resources and commitment they give to security of customers’ assets. Crypto exchanges secure the users’ assets through multiple layers of protection including account security measures, web security protocols and firewall, corporate and organization safeguards. Crypto regulations that are enforced by regulatory bodies also adds another layer of security. Before choosing any crypto exchange, consider having a look at the security features like cold storage facilities, and security audits that company utilize.

Despite the advanced security measures that the leading exchanges like Crypto.com and Binance take, it is still necessary for user to take measures on his side to add another layer of safety. You can also store your crypto in wallets. Hardware wallets are a great option to secure your assets. On the other hand, soft wallets are relatively less safe because they are connected to internet and there remain chances of being hacked. Hybrid wallets are also a good option.

Safety Practices for Centralized Exchanges

  1. 2-Factor Authentication

Even if you have stored your funds on a highly secure centralized exchange, taking further measures for your account safety remain crucial. These measures include turning on 2-Factor Authentication, or utilizing Authenticator App, and making a strong password. If a crypto exchange does not offer 2FA option, do not use that platform.

  • Avoid Phishing Attacks & Malware

You need to ensure you always enter your login details in the actual website of crypto exchange by checking the URL. Hackers often create fake website similar to a crypto exchange to get user login details if users enter those. They can also create fake wallets or send you emails asking you to download a specific crypto application. Those applications may have malware, so avoid such emails from unknown sources.

  • Other Practices

Enable whitelisting withdrawal address option if available. Through this option, you withdraw funds to pre-approved wallet addresses. This prevents unauthorized withdrawals. Secondly, keep monitoring your account activity, transaction history and balance. Turn on account notifications so you receive notifications about your account activity.

Safety Practices for Decentralized Exchanges

  1. Use Secure DEX

In DEXs, users have full control over their assets. They are responsible for protecting their private keys to avoid getting hacked. Another point where safety is required is the smart contracts which execute peer-to-peer trade between users. If a DEX has highly secure smart contracts, then chances of platform getting hacked remain low. Before choosing any DEX, research about platform’s reliability and security practices.

  • Utilize Hardware Wallets

When it comes to DEXs, you can store your assets separately in a hardware wallet. It is a physical device which is not connected to internet. These wallets have robust security and they are extremely difficult to hack. But you need to keep your seed phrase safe.

  • Avoid Phishing Attack

DEXs don’t really ask for private keys unless you are making a transaction. Avoid entering seed phrases and private keys when asked on a DEX application or similar website. When choosing a crypto wallet, verify its reliability, reputation and other security features.

  • Other Practices

Many DEXs also offer option of 2-Factor Authentication. Turn on this feature whenever possible. When making transactions, double-check the transaction details like recipient address and amount.

Utilizing Crypto Wallets

Apart from soft and hard wallets, there are other types of wallets that you can utilize, including hybrid wallets. They combine features of hot wallet and cold wallet providing more security than hot wallets. These wallets use secure smart contracts, distributed key management and multiple signatures which gives advantage over hot wallets.

Among all types of wallets, cold wallet remains the most secure wallet. It is not connected to internet so chances of being hacked are extremely low. Even if someone steal your hard wallet, he cannot access your funds because they are protected by recovery seed and PIN. Only physical damage to hardware wallet can actually make the device inoperable.

Conclusion

While many crypto trading platforms promise security of customer funds, researching about them thoroughly is still crucial. Additional measures like 2-Factor Authentication, also adds another layer of security for your crypto assets. It’s important to take security measures for both decentralized and centralized exchanges. Cold wallet remains a robust safeguard for your crypto.

Earning potential of crypto staking

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crypto

I will discuss to earning potential of crypto staking. Among the various crypto side hustles, staking is one of the best options. The returns you receive depends on your investment size, Annual Percentage Yield (APY) rate of coin, and also price fluctuations of the coin. With the right combination of strategies, it can also give better returns.

For example, you can stake multiple coins of skyrocketing crypto projects to have increased chances of higher returns. Annual Percentage Yield (APY) determines how much interest you earn annually. If a coin has APY of 10% on a staking platform and you stake $500 worth of crypto, you will earn $50 which is 10% of your investments after a year. During this time, if price of crypto decreases, you may also face losses. Stablecoin staking, in comparison to this, is less risky because the price of stablecoin remains the same during the lockup period, and you may not face any losses. But stablecoins have lower APY rates and do not provide high profits. To overcome this and to secure higher profits, you can diversify your investments. Stake multiple coins especially those who are bullish in long-term, to have higher chances of good profits. We will explore specific strategies that can yield high profits. But this must not be taken as investment advice because the market conditions can vary significantly.

How Staking Works?

Staking is used to validate transactions for blockchain that use Proof-of-Stake mechanism. In the process, you lock your crypto assets in a staking contract for a specific blockchain and use the staking software. Direct staking and delegate staking are two ways of doing this. In direct staking, you run the validator node through a software and monitor the activity. It also requires technical expertise and may not be good option for beginners. So, our main focus of this article would be delegate staking. In delegate staking, you give your assets to a third party to perform staking on your behalf. Delegate staking is easier and requires you to simply deposit your crypto assets on a third-party platform like crypto exchange or specialized staking platforms and wait for rewards to come. These platforms also provide specific APY rate which determines your returns. OKX and Binance are some of the crypto exchanges that provide very high APY rates at various coins allowing users to earn good profits.

Stablecoin & Flexible Staking

When you lock your assets in a contract, you cannot access them for specified period of time. You may lose some of the crypto if price decreases. To overcome this, you can also try flexible staking options if available on a staking platform. With this option, you can unstake and access your assets at any time. Second low-risk method is stablecoin staking. You can simply stake stablecoins and get specified returns based on APY rate without losing any crypto because price of these cryptocurrencies does not fluctuate. The only risk involved is the failure of platform or platform getting hacked. We put both these methods in the list of low-risk methods.

Fixed Staking

Fixed staking process in which you cannot unstake your assets, carries higher risk compared to flexible staking. But this option also gives higher profits because of higher APY rates it offers. Platforms like Binance offer both flexible and fixed staking options for the same cryptocurrency.

The risk that staking normal cryptocurrencies carries, depends largely on price fluctuations and market conditions of the coin that you are staking. This method combined with fixed staking terms, has higher risk than stablecoin staking and flexible staking. But this method also offers higher APY rates and good profits.

If you choose to proceed with this method, you must research about the market conditions and price trends of the coin that you want to stake. This way, you can be aware of future price of the coin and manage the risk.

Staking Strategies

  1. Diversified Investment

The best strategy that professional crypto investors use in staking is the diversified investment strategy. You simply stake multiple coins that have long-term bullish trend and you also stake stablecoins, to maximize the chances of higher profits. This strategy requires doing technical analysis and research about the coins that you want to stake. Observing the price trends, and market events for the coin can be helpful in your strategy. It may take more effort but the returns can be lucrative.

2. Investment in New Projects

You can also stake coins from the new crypto projects that are skyrocketing. Through this strategy, your investment amount would also increase by price surge, and additionally, you also earn staking profit. By following top crypto news sources, and tracking platforms like Coinmarketcap, you can find such crypto projects. Some of the coins have great potential for growth. This method also has some risk that’s why you should allocate small portion of your investment to this rather than allocating whole portion.

3. Utilize Investment Calculators

Additionally, you can also use staking rewards calculator to calculate the annual returns depending on the size of your investment. This tool provides a graph and estimate of annual returns based on staking amount, asset and stake conditions you provide. However, these estimates are based on inputs provided and do not account for events like crypto market volatility.

Conclusion

If you want to earn passive income with crypto, then staking would be one of the best options for you. Unlike trading, staking only involves locking your assets for a period of time and then you earn rewards. With the right strategies, you can generate good profits with your crypto. In the process, managing the risk by using your knowledge of crypto market is necessary. Additional tools like staking profit calculator might be helpful to aid you in the process.

What is the future of Ethereum in 2024?

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crypto

Both 2022 and 2023 were not favourable for most of the cryptocurrencies. During this period, the prices of cryptocurrencies like ETH, BTC, and BNB reduced significantly. ETH which is the second largest crypto in terms of market capitalization had its ATH in 2021 at price of $4,800 driven by increased market confidence, increasing institutional adoption and rise of DeFi applications.

Major reasons for reduced price in 2022, included high interest rates, bankruptcy of FTX, and Celcius Network, Terra (LUNA) collapse, followed by increased regulatory oversight, reduced investor confidence and decreased DeFi activities in 2023. With the start of 2024, the price of ETH has increased significantly with major reason being the halving event which was scheduled for 2024.  The growth of DeFi applications, increasing institutional adoption of ETH, and halving event played an important role in boosting the price of ETH. From 21st May to 11th June 2024, ETH price has remained between $3,600 and $3,800 with certain fluctuations and decreased to $3400 after that.

ETH may to june 2024

Currently, ETH/USDT pair is being traded at $3413. Ethereum 2.0 updates and continued growth of DeFi applications are also playing an important role in sustaining investor confidence. Also, recently, SEC has approved spot ETH ETFs although final approvals are pending. This could also be favourable to ETH price. Given that most of the market events are favourable for ETH price, its price may increase further in long term. Experts predict the market to be bullish in long-term.

ETH technical analysis map

From April to May 2024, ETH price decreased from $3500 to $3000 but it shown resilience and reached up to more than $3500 in June. In short-term, it experienced multiple bearish trends. The price struggled to surpass $3600 in last week but can certainly go beyond after this summer. Latest predictive research insights indicate Ethereum in 2024 may have a resistance level at $3823.15 and support at $2572.46. Some experts also have bullish sentiments on ETH price due to ETF approval, and continued market growth. Also, the Dencun upgrade which includes 9 Ethereum Improvement Proposals for Ethereum blockchain, which would reduce gas fees, improve scalability and security, can also boost the price. This update overall improves Ethereum network efficiency leading to more positive market sentiments and confidence in using DeFi applications. Currently, fear & greed index of overall crypto market is neutral according to Coinmarketcap. Crypto adoption may keep increasing due to rising popularity of decentralized applications.