Ethereum staking can be a lucrative activity, allowing you to earn free Ethereum simply by holding it on an exchange. Staking on decentralized exchanges and platforms typically has higher yields but also higher risk. For CEXs (centralized exchanges), this risk is almost fully negated.
This is a list of best exchanges for staking ETH, ranked by APY/APR yields, reliability, safety and more. Be sure to visit our Countries list to find exchanges which are servicing customers in your country.
| Exchange: | Flexible APY: |
|---|---|
| Binance | 0.83% |
| BingX | 1.00% |
| Bitfinex | 3.00% |
| Bitget | 3.00% |
| BitMart | 1.00% |
| Bitrue | 2.20% |
| Blofin | 0.10% |
| Bybit | 0.50% |
| Coinbase * | 3.12% |
| CoinEx ** | 0.10% |
| CoinW | 0.05% |
| Gate | 0.88% |
| Gemini * | 3.15% |
| Kucoin | 0.08% |
| HTX | 1.50% |
| Kraken | 3.00% |
| LBank | 2.02% |
| MEXC | 0.50% |
| Pionex | 0.57% |
| Poloniex | 1.50% |
| Tapbit | 1.00% |
| XT | 1.20% |
(*) Gemini and Coinbase both have an unstaking period lasting up to 14 days.
(**) CoinEx has on-chain staking with 2.05% APY and 3-day redemption period.
APYs in the table are for flexible staking, meaning you can withdraw and use your ETH coins at any time without penalties, unless otherwise noted.
On-chain vs CEX staking
ETH staking on CEXs and yields displayed above are not the same as ETH 2.0 on-chain staking. Some of these exchanges may offer on-chain staking with higher yields, but this typically comes with other drawbacks (locked duration, higher risk, etc.).
At the time of writing this, on-chain Ethereum staking provides a 3.23% APY. This is barely higher compared to staking through centralized exchanges.
There are upsides to CEX staking, too. Your funds are typically very safe, as most top-tier exchanges offer various investment protections and insurance for staked assets. Furthermore, your Ethereum is always a click away from being sold and traded for profits.
What’s the best ETH staking exchange?
When looking at fully flexible staking without any unstaking periods or delays, Kraken and Bitfinex are the top CEXs with 3% annual yield. Both of these exchanges are also in our High Safety tag, meaning they are extremely safe for long term spot holdings.
Bitget also offers a 3% APY. This one is followed by Bitrue at 2.2% and LBank at 2%. Every other exchange has lower returns.
Is ETH staking worthwhile?
This always depends on each person’s individual investment strategy, risk tolerance, trading knowledge, and portfolio size.
Knowledgeable crypto traders are likely going to easily outperform the staking returns by low-risk trading. There’s always risks involved with trading, but a 3% return per year should be in almost anyone’s skillset.
Those with a large portfolio size who intend to hold ETH long-term with no plans to trade, will find any return welcome. If you are risk-averse and just want a small yield without the emotions or stress caused by trading, staking can at the very least give you back some trading fees.
Ethereum staking earnings calculator
Interested to know how much you can earn by staking ETH? Use our handy calculator to get a rough estimate, based on dollar amount and yearly returns.
Things to keep in mind:
- Savings, staking or earn programs may not be available in all countries or territories, even if an exchange is servicing this area. US and Canada are often excluded from staking, but check each exchange to ensure that is that case.
- Alternatively, you can use exchanges without KYC to bypass regional restrictions. Using a VPN is likely going to be necessary too.
- APR/APY varies frequently by small percentages, you should verify current rates with on each exchange.
- Many exchanges have temporary promotional yields for certain assets, or higher yields for new customers. These are not indicated in our APY/APR rates displayed here. We do our best to display average rates.
Staking FAQ:
- How much can I earn with staking?
This depends on each individual exchange and currency. Larger exchanges such as Binance or Bybit typically have 1-5% yearly interest on most assets. Mid-sized exchanges sometimes have up to 20% APY or APR (yearly interest), even on popular high market cap assets.
On top of that, exchanges will sometimes run time-limited promotional events with up to 100% APR. These typically do not last longer than a week or month.
- Is there a difference between APY vs APR?
- APR stands for annual percentage rate. It represents interest rate in one year.
- APY stands for annual percentage yield. It represents interest in one year but with compounding.
The main difference between APR and APY lies in how they account for compounding.
While APR provides a simple annualized interest rate without considering compounding, APY factors in compounding to give a more accurate representation of the actual rate of return earned on an investment over time.
Therefore, APY is typically higher than APR for investments that involve compounding, reflecting the additional earnings generated through reinvested interest.
- What is auto-compounding?
Auto-compounding is a term you will see on some exchanges related to their earn/staking programs. Auto-compounding means that any interest you gain on your staked crypto will be automatically re-staked, allowing for even higher earnings.
The table below is a simplified example of earnings on $100 with and without compounded interest during a 1 year period with 12% APR/APY:
Month Non-compounded total: Compounded earnings: 1 101 101 2 102 102.01 3 103 103.03 4 104 104.06 5 105 105.10 6 106 106.15 7 107 107.21 8 108 108.28 9 109 109.36 10 110 110.46 11 111 111.56 12 112 112.68 After 12 months of staking, regular 12% APR would increase your initial $100 to $112. With compounded interest (APY), the end amount would be $112,68.
Compounded earnings end up yielding a slightly higher amount. There is no reason not to put all your assets to work, so if you have a choice always stake with compounded interest. Some exchanges also use “auto-add” or similar terminology for compounding.
- Can I trade funds while staking?
You need to own assets in order to earn money with staking. Therefore, you can’t trade them if the funds are committed to staking or earn programs.
Depending on exchange’s terms and specific coin, you may need to “lock” your funds for certain period in order to earn passive income from staking. This can be anywhere from 24 hours, a week, and up to a month or longer. In case you decide to lock your funds, you will not be able to trade them meanwhile, or you may have to pay penalties or forego earnings if you decide to withdraw early.
Lots of staking programs are “flexible”, meaning you can withdraw and trade your funds at any time without any penalties, and you get to keep any extra earnings accumulated while staking.
- Are there risks to staking?
On-chain staking with personal crypto wallets often carries some risk. Staking on exchanges typically yields lower interest rates, but has much less risk involved.
There is always risk to holding any crypto assets on centralized exchanges, but our website only lists the most reputable ones that are sure to keep your funds safe.
That being said, there are always risks of an exchange getting hacked, or becoming illiquid. You should always understand all potential risks of investing into crypto.
Otherwise, staking carries the same risk as holding the asset in spot. Most exchanges have user protection funds or insurance funds, which will guarantee the safety of staked funds and accumulated interest in extreme cases.
- Are there minimum amounts for staking?
Technically most staking will require at least $10-$20 in an asset in order to stake them, so yes there are minimum amounts. You can begin earning passive income with staking with any portfolio size.
Some exchanges may offer different percentage yields depending on the amount of cryptoassets you wish to stake. For example, they may offer 60% APY for up to $100,000, but only 3% if you stake more than $100,000.
- Can I earn passive income with stablecoins like USDT?
Most exchanges with staking and earn programs will also have staking for USDT, USDC, TUSD, or other stablecoins. APR on stablecoins is rarely above 5%, and often much lower, making them less than ideal for passive earnings unless you hold significant amounts.
- What’s the best crypto exchange for staking?
Bitrue is currently the best exchange for staking, with over 100 assets available. Most of them with 20% APYs, which is frequently higher than other exchanges. All are flexible staking assets too, meaning you can stop staking at any time, and get your accumulated interest without any penalties or delays.
Kraken is currently the second best exchange for staking. It offers around 30 popular assets for staking, including Solana, Cardano, Ethereum, Polkadot, Cosmos, Polygon and more. APRs range from 2-20% depending on asset and timeframe.
Kraken has been operating since 2013, and Bitrue since 2018. These are both reliable and trusted exchanges in the market. They are suitable for safe long-term spot holdings, and earning extra money on your crypto holdings by staking them. That being said, you should never put all your eggs in one basket, so consider signing up for multiple exchanges and spread your portfolio.
- What is impermanent loss?
Impermanent loss isn’t really relevant to staking on centralized exchanges. Impermanent loss refers to the potential loss in net value because of the price difference between two assets.
Impermanent loss occurs on decentralized exchanges when the value of staked assets in a liquidity pool fluctuates, resulting in lower returns compared to simply holding the assets. It happens because automated market makers adjust prices to balance liquidity, potentially causing losses when assets are withdrawn.
If that's confusing, suffice it to say that staking crypto on centralized exchanges has no impermanent loss.
- Does staking qualify me for airdrops?
Off-chain staking (on centralized exchanges) generally does not qualify you for any airdrops or new tokens. But, there are exceptions. If you use flexible staking, you can withdraw your assets at any time and re-stake them on-chain to qualify for airdrops.
You can also take a look at our list of exchanges with airdrops & launchpads to see where you may be able to get frequent airdrops by staking.
Ethereum staking is not the most lucrative compared to many other coins and tokens. But, this altcoin is proven and reliable. ETH staking at a 3% yearly gain offered by some exchanges can be a significant gain, with almost no risk.
