If you use a Ledger hardware wallet with the Ledger Live interface app, you can manage your portfolio and also earn rewards when you stake crypto with Ledger. Staking for a variety of supported coins can be activated through the Ledger Live Earn function, which is the simplest method, or through third-party services provided in the Ledger Discover function, where some more advanced features are available, including liquid staking.
A big positive when you use a Ledger hardware wallet–besides the main purpose, which is strong crypto security–is that you can manage your portfolio through interface app Ledger Live, which provides not only ease-of-use, but also lets you earn rewards when you stake crypto with Ledger.
When you first set up your Ledger, you’ll actually need to download Ledger Live as part of that process, and for an overview of the main components of the interface app, take a look at this walkthrough: Understanding Ledger Live: How to Manage Your Crypto Portfolio Effectively. You’ll notice there’s a lot to do in the app, but right now let’s focus on how to stake crypto using your Ledger device, in this complete Ledger staking guide.
Why You Should Be Staking on Your Ledger?
In case you’re wondering why you should be staking on Ledger, let’s run through the positives. Firstly, there’s the basic question of why to stake at all, but that’s simple: if you’re buying crypto as an investment, then while you’re holding you may as well put your tokens to work earning passive income.
There are many ways to do this, but one of the most relatively low risk is by staking, a process by which you temporarily lock up tokens (and help to secure the blockchain) in return for staking rewards.
As for why to do this within Ledger, two key reasons are security and convenience–you can do everything from a hardware wallet, and it’s all happening in one place. This helps you keep track of your stack and how it’s being put to use, streamlining the process and ensuring you don’t forget about tokens that are scattered around multiple protocols. And if you still haven’t got a Ledger wallet, then go ahead and take a look at the products available.
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Staking Through Ledger Earn
To get started with how to stake crypto in Ledger Live, open up the app with your hardware wallet hooked up. It should open on your portfolio, and over on the left in the sidebar there’s the menu, from where you can navigate around the app.
On the menu, right in the middle of the list of tabs, you’ll see the Earn function–and you’ll notice that it’s labeled as a new feature. Click on Earn and you can also see from the message that comes up at the top that the Earn Dashboard is currently in Beta testing mode, implying that there are further improvements still to come.
Eligible Assets for Staking on Ledger
For now though, there are multiple supported assets and–assuming you’re already holding some coins in your Ledger wallet–when you click on Earn, the first thing you’ll see is a summary of which of your tokens are eligible for staking, with an estimate of how much you can earn in rewards, and you can select to view your potential earnings over time frames from one day to one year.
A point to remember here is that not all coins have staking programs. So for example, you can’t stake BTC, because Bitcoin is a proof-of-work blockchain, but you can stake ETH because Ethereum is (as of September 2022) a proof-of-stake blockchain, and–as you’d expect from the name–proof-of-stake coins can be staked.
Additionally, there are some proof-of-stake tokens that cannot be staked in Ledger Live, simply because the app’s staking function doesn’t support them yet, but as mentioned, we can expect that the range of supported tokens may expand in future.
The other thing to be aware of is that estimated staking rewards are in flux and there are no guarantees–especially over longer timeframes–about exact returns. You should take into account also that rewards are displayed in fiat, but of course, crypto prices are highly volatile so these amounts will change all the time.
Relatedly, be aware in general of whether we’re in a bull market, a bear market, or a sideways phase, so you can have a rough idea of whether those fiat conversions are likely to move up or down over the coming months. If you want to get a handle on these ideas in more detail, especially regarding how to sell at the right time, take a look the Ultimate Profit Taking Guide.
Back now to Ledger Live though, scrolling further down the Earn page you can find a list of all assets–not just the ones you own–that are eligible for staking through the app. Here you can also see the current APR or APY for each coin, and note the difference between these figures: APY includes compound interest, and APR doesn’t include compound interest. Also, again, these rewards are not guaranteed by Ledger Live, or by anyone else.
Start Staking
Now you know which assets can be staked, go back up to where Ledger Live lists the assets eligible from your own portfolio, and for each one you’ll see there’s a button labeled Stake on the right-hand side. From there, the process is straightforward–you start by clicking the Stake button, and you’ll then have to click through a delegation process.
This means first approving the validator–which means confirming which provider you’ll be staking with. Ledger’s validator is the first option and has a strong reputation with–as you’d expect–strong security, but check the commission rates: in the case of Ledger it’s currently 7%.
Then you have to select how much to stake, or you can just click the Use Max switch to allocate the maximum amount you’re holding (but note the warning message in this example, using Solana, about keeping a small amount of SOL unstaked to cover future transaction fees).
After that you have to open the appropriate app on your wallet, which you’ll be prompted to do on the device itself too, and you’ll have to review and sign the transaction on the device, again with prompts on both Ledger Live and on the wallet screen.
That all done, you’ll then get a confirmation message and that’s it, simply by clicking a few buttons, you’re now delegating tokens from your hardware wallet and you’ll soon start to earn passive income with Ledger!
However, be aware that there may be a delay between finishing this process, and staking becoming fully activated, depending on the token. In the case of Solana, for example, it takes up to three days to activate, and you won’t earn rewards until activation is complete.
Unstaking Tokens
After you’ve staked tokens, if you click on the Earn tab in the sidebar menu, you’ll then see a summary of your staked assets under the Assets earning rewards tab. You can then click on an account from which you’re staking, and on that account page, if you scroll down, you can see your delegations.
At the end there is a Manage button, and if you click on that and then select Deactivate, you can click through the process of removing your tokens. However, as when activating a stake, different assets vary in the amount of time it takes to unstake, so for example, in the case of Solana, deactivating your stake will take three to four days.
Staking Services in Ledger Discover
We’ve looked so far at a very straightforward way of quickly staking on Ledger, but next in this Ledger staking guide, we’ll run through some more advanced options that you may want to explore.
Click on the Discover tab in the sidebar menu and you’ll be taken to a selection of integrated third party apps, and among them are several staking services, including the following useful products:
- Lido: When you stake ETH (and other kinds of crypto), your tokens become locked up and you can’t use them, but liquid staking gets around this problem by giving you receipt-like LSTs (liquid staking tokens) equivalent to your staked assets. These can then be put to work on DeFi protocols–for example to participate in liquidity pools, or as collateral for loans–while your assets remains staked. Following this model, if you stake ETH with Lido, you’ll receive stETH in return, which is the top LST by market cap.
- Stader Labs: Another option for ETH liquid staking that’s also integrated directly into Ledger Live, is Stader Labs, and in this case, you’ll receive an LST called ETHx in return for staked ETH. Also, take a further look through the Discovery section of Ledger Live, and you’ll find separate Stader Labs products (listed as Stader Labs BNB–Liquid Staking and Stader Labs–Matic Liquid Staking) that provide liquid staking solutions for both BNB and Polygon.
- StakeKit: This platform provides staking and liquid staking services across over forty blockchains, tapping into a variety of protocols (including the above-mentioned Lido), while making the staking process as simple as possible.
Bottom Line
Ultimately, if you’re looking to get the most out of your crypto stack, then staking makes sense as a simple option by which to earn passive returns, and by staking on Ledger you can do this from the security of a hardware wallet. Additionally, if you want to dive deeper into the DeFi ecosystem and its potential to deliver returns, then there are liquid staking options that allow you to put your tokens to work even after they have been delegated for staking.
Ps. We compared Ledger to a couple of other hardware wallets:
- Ledger Stax vs Trezor Safe 5
- Ledger Nano S Plus vs Ledger Nano X
- Ledger Nano X vs Trezor Model T
- Ledger Nano X vs Coolwallet Pro
Ps2. Our team also reviewed Ledger products:
Other interesting reads:
How to set up your Ledger wallet successfully.
Features of Ledger & Advanced security features on Ledger
How to recover your Ledger wallet – and how to avoid losing it in the first place
Ledger firmware updates – how it influences your crypto safety
Staking your crypto on Ledger – earn crypto while doing NOTHING
