Staking, frequently referred to as Savings or Earn programs on centralized exchanges, allows you to earn passive interest on your cryptocurrency holdings. Simply holding crypto in your exchange wallets and designating it for staking is enough to earn passive income.
USDT, USDC or other United States Dollar stablecoins typically do not have high yields from staking (compared to most crypto tokens). These yields are indicated with APY or APR percentage – annual percentage yield/rate. For example, 3% APY would mean a 3% yearly return. This means that staking $10,000 for 1 year would yield extra $300.
Below are our lists of best exchanges for staking stablecoins, compared by APY/APR yields.
Best exchanges for staking USDT
This is a list of best exchanges for staking USDT, ranked by APY/APR yields.
| Exchange: | Flexible | 30 days | 60 days | 90 days | 180 days | 365 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binance | 8.07% | |||||
| BingX | 5.00% | 7.00% | 7.25% | 7.50% | ||
| Bybit | 4.20% | 2.50% | 3.00% | |||
| KuCoin | 5.84% | |||||
| Kraken | 5.75% | |||||
| MEXC | 0.80% | |||||
| Bitget | 4.00% | 3.00% | ||||
| XT | 3.20% | 6.00% | 8.90% | 9.00% | ||
| Gate | 11.99% | 2.00% | 2.80% | 3.20% | ||
| HTX | 3.00% | 3.90% | ||||
| BitMart | 3.00% | 4.50% | ||||
| Pionex | 4.61% | 6.17% | ||||
| Poloniex | 5.00% | 3.90% | ||||
| CoinEx | 7.38% | |||||
| CoinW | 0.50% | 6.00% | ||||
| LBank | 6.00% | |||||
| OKX | 8.65% | |||||
| Blofin | 3.00% | 3.80% | 4.50% | 5.00% | 5.50% | |
| Tapbit | 4.00% | |||||
| Bitrue | 9.00% |
The best stablecoin staking exchange right now is Gate. At a whooping 12% APY, this is no doubt the best place to park your idle USDT holdings. There’s tons of other perks on Gate too, so don’t hesitate to read our review and sign up for special bonuses.
OKX, another safe crypto-behemoth exchange, offers a 8.65% annualized return on USDT. OKX shouldn’t need an introduction, but if you don’t have an account yet be sure to check out our review for massive signup bonuses.
Binance, the biggest exchange in the crypto industry, offers a wide range of trading and financial services with top tier safety and reliability. APY offered by Binance on USDT staking is 8%, with no minimum or maximum amounts or other fine print.
Another top tier stablecoin staking exchange right now is Bitrue. This one also has fully flexible duration, and a fantastic 9% APY. There is a downside: Bitrue’s staking vaults are frequently full, and you may need to keep refreshing throughout the day to stake your assets. However, the high stablecoin staking yield may be worth the small inconvenience.
Excellent alternatives are also LBank (6%), Kraken (5.75%), KuCoin (5.84%), and Poloniex (5%).
Tiered staking note
Many exchanges have tiered staking. In tiered staking, you will get a different APY rate depending on amount you stake.
For example, Bybit will give you 9.20% APY if you stake under $500, but your APY will be 4.2% with higher amounts.
Yields displayed in our table are for highest dollar amounts (lowest APY you can receive). We also exclude promotional bonuses or various new user yield boosts.
Best exchanges for staking USDC
USDC is another frequently used stablecoin also pegged to the USD. Here’s a list of CEXs with best yields for USDC staking.
| Exchange: | Flexible | 30 days | 60 days | 90 days | 180 days | 365 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binance | 7.10% | |||||
| BingX | 1.30% | 7.00% | 7.25% | 7.50% | ||
| Bybit | 4.04% | |||||
| Kucoin | 6.00% | |||||
| Kraken | 5.75% | |||||
| MEXC | 0.85% | |||||
| Bitget | 0.30% | 3.00% | ||||
| Gate | 10.00% | |||||
| HTX | 2.50% | |||||
| BitMart | 2.87% | |||||
| LBank | 3.04% | |||||
| OKX | 4.13% | |||||
| Coinbase * | 5.10% | |||||
| Tapbit | 4.00% | |||||
| Bitrue | 9.00% |
(*) Coinbase has an unstaking period for all assets, up to 14 days. You will not be able to immediately trade un-staked assets.
Be sure to visit our Countries list to filter exchanges which are servicing customers in your country.
Is staking USDT or USDC worth it?
If you are holding these stablecoins on an exchange anyway, there is no reason why you shouldn’t stake them. Staking on CEXs has very little risk, as opposed to on-chain staking on decentralized exchanges or various other protocols.
Staking may not be particularly lucrative for smaller amounts, but why would you ever say no to getting free crypto? If you have money on the sidelines waiting to enter into positions, there is no reason not to make the most out of it.
USDT staking earnings calculator
For a more accurate estimate of earnings, you can use our calculator below. Simply input the amount of USD and yearly APY to get an estimate of how much you can earn with staking.
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 if that is that case.
- Alternatively, you can use exchanges without KYC to bypass regional restrictions.
- APR/APY fluctuates slightly on a day-to-day basis. We do our best to display average rates, but you should verify current rates with 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.
- Our list may not include every single exchange with stablecoin staking (we exclude ones with low yields, or those unavailable in most jurisdictions). See all CEXs with Staking or Earn programs instead.
- In flexible staking, you can withdraw assets at any time. In fixed duration staking, you can typically request to withdraw assets before the expiration, but you will forfeit any interest accumulated.
- FDUSD (First Digital USD), USDD and TUSD stablecoin staking is also offered on multiple exchanges. These generally have negligibly higher yields compared to USDT, and typically identical to USDC.
Staking FAQs:
- 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.
