One of the most common mistakes we see is people bridging their POL tokens over to Polygon to stake.
POL staking is on Ethereum, NOT Polygon mainnet. So, your POL tokens must be ERC20. If you are withdrawing from Coinbase or another CEX, be sure to withdraw to your Ethereum receiving address.
POL staking can be done directly within Frontier and Klevr wallets, or by connecting Ledger, Metamask, Coinbase wallet, Trust wallet, Zerion, Bitski, and many other wallets to the Polygon dashboard.
Be sure to check out out POL staking tutorial videos.
When choosing a Polygon validator to stake your POL tokens with, there are several factors to consider:
1. 100% uptime. You want to stake with a node that runs 24/7/364. However, the Polygon network is finicky and it’s quite common for all validators to miss checkpoints. If you go to claim rewards and notice your validator is at less than 100% checkpoints signed, don’t stress. It’s common.
2. Look for a validator that has at least 98% of the checkpoints signed. This statistic represents the last 200 checkpoints. Each checkpoint takes a few seconds to a few minutes.
100% is ideal, the Polygon network is fickle and it is common for validators to miss checkpoints for no apparent reason. Unfortunately, no rewards are earned on those missed checkpoints.
Our monitoring software alerts us when this happens, so we can address the issue quickly.
3. Contact Information: Make sure the validator has a website and a way to contact them. Do NOT stake with anonymous validators.
4. Self Stake: How many tokens does the validator have staked from his or her own stash. You want to choose a validator who’s got skin in the game. If the validator doesn’t have many tokens self-staked then keep looking.
5. Total Stake: This is the number of tokens on the node. It’s tempting to stake with a validator with a huge total stake, because it feels safer.
As we mentioned in the article: How To Choose A Validator, nodes with huge stockpiles of tokens are terrible for network security. It’s important to stake with smaller validators to help decentralize the network.
6. Commission: Choose a validator that charges at least 1%, but no more than 12% commission. You want your validator to be profitable so they can afford equipment that reliably signs blocks.
It’s enticing to stake your tokens with a validator node that doesn’t charge commission, but BEWARE.
Most often, 0% commission is a bait and switch tactic used by validators to accumulate tokens quickly. Then, they suddenly begin charging. We’re not saying all 0% commission nodes are dishonest, just that dishonest nodes are usually 0%.
0% commission is also the bait that dishonest validators use. They can’t steal your staked tokens, but they can steal your rewards. We’ve seen validators on other chains raise their commission to 100% just before signing a block and then immediately lower it back to 0%, to continue deceiving their delegators.
Plus, good luck getting support or your questions answered from a validator that doesn’t charge for their service. They have virtually no incentive to care about you.
No one is going to run a validator node that loses money in the long run. It can be expensive and time consuming. We charge a reasonable rate to cover our costs.
7. Community Involvement: Check around in Polygon’s social channels, Reddit, Discord, Telegram, Twitter, etc and try to support a validator who actively participates.
You’re certainly welcome to stake with our node at Blocks United. Here’s our node’s page at the Polygon dashboard.
Polygon POL staking tutorials
Check our POL staking tutorial for detailed descriptions, but the videos below show you just how easy POL staking is.
How to stake POL using Coinbase Wallet
How to stake POL using Trust Wallet
How to stake POL using Metamask
Frequently Asked Questions
There is no “best” validator. As mentioned, look for high uptime, high percentage of checkpoints signed, a way to contact them, community involvement, self-stake, and reasonable commission under 12%.
We’d be thrilled if you staked with us at Blocks United.
Do not stake with the largest validators. Large validators are terrible for network security and no POL validator takes custody of your tokens, unless you stake on an exchange like Coinbase.
POL tokens can be staked at centralized exchanges, like Coinbase, Kraken, or Binance but we discourage it. Please read our article: Why You Should Not Stake ATOM With Coinbase for more detail.
Staking POL tokens is recommended from a non-custodial wallet connected to the Polygon dashboard.
The main risk currently is a smart contract exploit. Fortunately, the POL staking contract is independently audited on a continual basis.
The other risk to consider is validator performance. When validators go offline and miss checkpoints, rewards are not earned.
Slashing is not currently enabled on Polygon.
Absolutely! Trust Wallet can be connected to the Polygon dashboard, along with Metamask, Coinbase Wallet, and many others. The Polygon developers are constantly partnering with new wallet providers, so you can use your favorite wallet.
You bet. According to the POL staking calculator the current APY is just over 4.5%.
Nothing we say is financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell anything. Cryptocurrency is a highly speculative asset class. Staking crypto tokens carries additional risks, including but not limited to smart-contract exploitation, poor validator performance or slashing, token price volatility, loss or theft, lockup periods, and illiquidity. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Never invest more than you can afford to lose. Additionally, the information contained in our articles, social media posts, emails, and on our website is not intended as, and shall not be understood or construed as financial advice. We are not attorneys, accountants, or financial advisors, nor are we holding ourselves out to be. The information contained in our articles, social media posts, emails, and on our website is not a substitute for financial advice from a professional who is aware of the facts and circumstances of your individual situation. We have done our best to ensure that the information provided in our articles, social media posts, emails, and the resources on our website are accurate and provide valuable information. Regardless of anything to the contrary, nothing available in our articles, social media posts, website, or emails should be understood as a recommendation to buy or sell anything and make any investment or financial decisions without consulting with a financial professional to address your particular situation. Blocks United expressly recommends that you seek advice from a professional. Neither Blocks United nor any of its employees or owners shall be held liable or responsible for any errors or omissions in our articles, in our social media posts, in our emails, or on our website, or for any damage or financial losses you may suffer. The decisions you make belong to you and you only, so always Do Your Own Research.
