Staking

No, Proof of Stake (PoS) staking and lending are two very different activities. In PoS staking, the owner of the relevant cryptocurrency pledges their tokens to a validator for the purpose of validating transactions on the network or dApp associated with the token, but never forfeits the right to dispose of these assets. In turn, the owner is rewarded for contributing to the governance process.

In lending, by contrast, assets are loaned out to third parties in exchange for payment of interest, and there are different (and often greater) risks involved for the lender. Notably, the borrower may use or pledge the asset as they wish, and there is the risk that the borrower may fail to repay the loan. 

Uphold does not engage in lending.

Visit our Staking page to learn which tokens are eligible for staking today, and to view a list of tokens we plan to support in future.

Rewards are set by each crypto network and calculated against the amount of crypto actively staked — the more you invest, the more you earn.

First weekly-cycle payout:

• Rewards start accruing the moment you stake your assets and are paid out every Thursday. 

Following weekly-cycle payouts:

• On the following weekly-cycles the payout will be processed as normal, and the staking rewards will be in tune with that staking APY, respectively.

The Annual Percentage Yield (APY) represents a projection of the total rewards you will earn on that staked asset, taking into account the effect of compounding those rewards by letting them accumulate. 

Any published APYs for crypto assets are variable and fluctuate based on supply and demand in each of the blockchain’s different protocols. This is determined differently and can change at any given moment.

Rewards start accruing the moment you stake your assets and are paid out every Thursday.

The time it takes to unstake tokens directly on the blockchain varies on a token by token basis, for example DOT has a 28 day ‘unbounding’ period. 

Where possible, Uphold will work to execute the majority of unstaking  requests much sooner, by balancing that request with other users wishing to stake their own assets.

Uphold earns a commission between 3% - 34% depending on the asset being staked. In order to ensure full transparency to our users, the estimated APY rate takes our commission into account. For more information, please refer to our Uphold Staking Terms & Conditions.

Your staking accounts, balances and rewards-to-date can all be tracked in your portfolio page.

In order to stake assets, you must have your identity verified and reside in a location where staking is allowed. Staking services are not currently available in the U.S., Canada, Japan or Singapore, or in other jurisdictions in which Uphold does not generally make its services available. For more information - please refer to our terms and conditions.

As with any financial operation, staking is not risk-free. The most common risk associated with staking is incurring “slashing” penalties charged by the network. Uphold protects against any uptime-related slashing risk, and monitors staked assets 24/7 to avoid downtime-related slashing. 

Uphold will make every reasonable effort to provide you with the ability to unstake your assets upon request via our flexible staking feature. In times of unusually high demand, however, you may not be able to unstake (and thus trade, send or withdraw) your assets until the end of the relevant network's unbounding period. This period varies, depending on the underlying network, and is typically set at up to 30 days, but may be longer. 

Upon unstaking, the assets you staked will be returned to your Uphold account, but during the unbounding period, the value of the asset may change.

For more information about staking and any risks involved, please refer to our staking Terms & Conditions

Tax authorities around the world have been slow to provide clear guidance on the taxation of cryptocurrency, including any rewards from the staking of such currencies.  

From a US tax perspective, there’s no specific Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) guidance on staking. However, the IRS guidance on mining supports that there could still be tax implications for staking rewards because of its similarity to mining in accordance with the IRS Notice 2014-21.  

As a result, Uphold will follow the IRS Notice for reporting purposes.

Given the uncertainty that exists with regards to tax reporting around cryptocurrency transactions  in various jurisdictions, we recommend you discuss the tax implications of your staking activity with your tax advisor.