Where To Stake Cardano: 9 Best ADA Staking Reward Platforms

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Cardano (ADA) is one of the most popular and best coins to stake for investors that can earn a passive income. Cardano can be staked using an on-chain wallet or cryptocurrency platform. In this article, we explain how to stake Cardano and where to find the best ADA staking rewards using the best staking platforms. The methodology includes an assessment of the estimated staking reward, pay-out frequency, and fees on ADA-supported exchanges, brokers' wallets.

Best Places To Stake ADA: 2023 Reviews

Cryptocurrency trading exchanges have expanded beyond offering digital currencies to buy, trade, and sell. Crypto platforms for staking such as Binance, Bitfinex, Coinbase, KuCoin, Kraken, and Poloniex have a wide range of features and services to keep funds on their platform while benefitting the customer with options to earn money passively through staking PoS tokens.

Binance is one of the biggest exchanges in the world and a go-to destination when it comes to buying Cardano with cash or crypto. For long-term investors, Binance introduced Cardano staking on its cryptocurrency trading platform on the 10th of February 2021 with yields up to 24.79% APY. The estimated staking reward has since been reduced to 7.79% APY when locked in for a fixed term of 60 days on the exchange. The program operates on a first-come, first-served basis with the crypto interest paid out on a daily basis.

Binance is one of the best crypto staking platforms due to the supported assets and other features, products and services offered on the platform without having to transfer the coins to another wallet address. Cardano investors can opt to lock in the tokens for 60 day, 30 days, or a flexible option to remain liquid and trade the coins on the Binance Exchange.

The flexible rate for staking Cardano on Binance is only 0.48% APY, however, is a great option for investors or traders looking for short-term rewards while holding the asset on the trading platform. A minimum of 1 ADA token is required to start staking on Binance up to a maximum limit of 500,000 ADA tokens.

Overall, Binance is our top pick for the best place to stake Cardano due to the generous staking rates, available flexible and lock-in options and the ability to maximize the ADA staking rewards using other financial products and services on the same platform. However, investors in the USA should be aware that Binance.US does not currently support Cardano staking and will need to use another provider. For a list of coins that can be staked, read our Binance.US review.

ByBit makes this list of the best exchanges to stake ADA. An exceptional crypto platform for spot, derivatives and options markets, ByBit also has an earning program that enables its users to stake tokens to earn staking rewards. ByBit supports staking Cardano on its platform with flexible and fixed options available. Both products offer competitive and guaranteed APY's for ADA tokens held within a ByBit wallet.

The ADA staking rewards are 1.10% APY for a flexible term, which means investors can deposit Cardano into the Earn wallet and withdraw at any time. This is highly advantageous and suitable for those that frequently trade ADA/USDT on the derivatives exchange. For longer-term investors that prefer to lock up their ADA tokens, there is a fixed staking period of 30 days. The payout is 3.50% APY for a fixed term at the time of writing. The original amount staked and the rewards can be withdrawn at the end of the term.

The minimum Cardano investment that must be held on ByBit to accrue awards is 60 ADA. The ByBit staking pool for Cardano is also capped at 100,000 ADA per user, which is the equivalent of USD 40,000 at the time of writing.

ByBit also has an APY Booster which can increase the ADA staking rewards. The booster will commence on the first day the rewards are calculated. This can increase the potential ADA staking payout above market, however, the supply of the APY Booster is limited.

Kraken is a digital asset exchange that connects willing cryptocurrency buyers and sellers on a simple and intuitive trading platform. Since its inception to the market, Kraken has become one of the top exchanges with a high reputation for ease of use, safety and competitive pricing that is suited for experienced crypto investors. It is also one of the best places to sell Cardano within the US into fiat currencies. The exchange has expanded its core products and services to include cryptocurrency staking of 12 assets for customers to maximize their return while holding coins on a Kraken wallet. 

Investors that transfer ADA tokens or purchase directly using the Kraken Exchange can stake their investment to start accruing and earning rewards. There are no waiting periods or fixed term periods. Kraken's estimated staking incentive for Cardano is between 4% and 6% per annum. The return on investment for staking Cardano on Kraken is excellent under a flexible arrangement compared to other similar exchanges. For example, the staking rate on Binance and KuCoin are 0.48% and 1.5% respectively for a flexible term. 

ADA staking rewards are paid on a weekly basis and can be withdrawn or transferred from the Kraken staking wallet to the spot wallet to trade for other coins. Overall, Kraken is an excellent choice for investors to stake coins on the platform without lock-in contracts and earn one of the best staking returns for Cardano without a lock-in period.

Update 2/10/2023: Kraken has suspended its staking service in the USA.

eToro is a leading social trading platform for cryptocurrency, stocks and CFD trading. In 2021, eToro introduced one-stop cryptocurrency staking for Cardano to its platform for its users to grow their ADA holdings. There are no minimum amounts required like other crypto exchanges.

eToro uses a tiered staking reward system to determine the payout to its customers. The highest tier can earn up to 90% of the staking rewards. Silver, Gold, Platinum Club Members are entitled to 85% followed by 75% for Bronze users. The staking amount held by eToro are fees to cover the operational costs. Overall, the fees to stake Cardano on eToro are quite high and similar to Coinbase which charges a flat 25% fee.

Users that stake Cardano will need to hold the asset for a minimum of 9 days. The ADA rewards will begin to accrue from the 10th day. A daily snapshot is taken to calculate the amount of ADA tokens staked with the staking rewards distributed 14 days after the following month. The distributed rewards are paid out in ADA tokens to the user eToro Trading Platform account which can be retained to earn compounded staking benefits each month. Overall, for eToro is a great platform for beginners to stake ADA on.

Bitfinex is best known for its sophisticated trading platform for speculating on the markets. A top-tier exchange based on site traffic, trading volume and liquidity, Bitfinex is a liquidity provider to other digital currency platforms in the world. Featuring state-of-the-art features such as an advanced trading platform, peer-to-peer (P2P) financing, an OTC market, margin trading and staking, Bitfinex is a professional exchange for experienced investors and traders.

There are in total 10 digital currencies that can be staked on Bitfinex which includes Cardano. The ADA estimated annual staking reward is 4% - 5% and is subject to variation. Customer simply need to deposit funds to their Cardano wallet to being staking.

To provide maximum ease of use and accessibility to everyone, there are no minimum amounts or staking fees to use this service on Bitfinex. The exchange will take an undisclosed amount of the ADA staking benefits, which should be clarified. Staking rewards will be paid out weekly and direct to the user's Cardano wallet similar to other exchanges.

Funds can be used at any time to take on the platform which is useful, however, ADA staking rewards cannot be used for trading or withdrawn. The snapshot to verify the number of coins is performed in the middle of the week, with the staking rewards distributed accordingly. In summary, staking Cardano on Bitfinex is incredibly easy, just leave the funds on the exchange to start earning ADA rewards each week.

Crypto.com is a global digital asset service that offers a wide range of products on a beginner-friendly and intuitive crypto app. The digital currency provider allows customers to buy, trade, sell, store, earn, stake, loan and pay bills using cryptocurrencies using its products on a mobile device. The app supports a list of 30 different coins that can be staked on the platform including ADA tokens to earn a passive income of 3% per annum.

Crypto.com users on the mobile app can deposit unlock the higher staking reward of 3% P.A for staking Cardano for a fixed term of 3 months. Investors can earn 2% for locking up ADA tokens on the app for 1 month or opt for flexible staking to earn 0.5% per annum.

The ADA staking rewards on Crypto.com are not as high compared to other exchanges. However, the staking bonuses can be increased to 5% for a fixed 3 month period by holding 500,000 CRO tokens in a wallet.

CEX.IO is a popular cryptocurrency exchange in the UK that has been designed to provide an easy to use platform for investors to convert fiat money into digital currencies. The exchange highly suitable for beginners and astute investors and offers a wide variety of products and trading tools for the most popular crypto assets.

The CEX.IO staking platform allows its users to increase their holdings of their favorite coins such as Cardano on a CEX.IO account to get a passive income. Once the ADA tokens are purchased or transferred to the exchange for staking, the rewards are automatically added to the wallet balance.

CEX.IO offers an estimated staking reward of 2.6% per annum which can be withdrawn at any time. There are no lock-in terms that allows the users' to trade the coins on the exchange. The ADA staking rewards are calculated every hour and sent to your account once a month. This is a negative compared to Binance which pays out the staking rewards daily which can be used for trading or transferred to a personal hardware wallet.

KuCoin is a leading cryptocurrency exchange for trading digital assets and cryptocurrencies. The exchange is suitable for beginners and experienced traders using its website or mobile app. The platform is often referred to as 'The People's Exchange' due to its rapid surge in popularity across the world particularly and is trusted by 1 out of every 4 crypto holders in the world.

Investors that are using the KuCoin digital currency exchange can access Pool-X to invest coins to earn stable profits. There are multiple staking assets to choose from such as ATOM, TRX, ZRX, IOST and ADA. KuCoin offers flexible staking for the Cardano network with an estimated return of 1.5% per annum. 

In comparison to Binance which offers a yield of 0.48% under a flexible term, staking Cardano on KuCoin generates a higher return on investment. This is suitable for traders that want to earn passive staking income in between trading. However, there are no fixed-term options to lock-in ADA tokens for 30 or 60 day periods to earn higher returns which is a disadvantage compared to Binance.

Yoroi is a software wallet that has been purpose-created to stake Cardano that is suitable for beginners that want to delegate their coins. The wallet is fast, easy to use with a secure and light-weight design that is supported on the Shelly network. The wallet can be downloaded as a browser extension and installed with 1-click. Once installed, the software wallet can be used to send and receive ADA tokens to delegate the funds into a staking pool. The wallet does not download a copy of the blockchain network to validate transactions.

The Yoroi wallet offers investors to browse through a list of staking pools which can be filtered by the return on investment, the pool size, the costs to stake ADA and how much has been pledged to each staking pool. The annualized return on investment ranges between 4.84% to 5.12% APY at the time of writing.

The staking pool operators can change their fees at any time which can be a downside to using open source pools. There is a grace period of 20 days for the coins to be approved are delegating to the network to avoid overloading. After this period, the coins will start to accrue rewards which will be paid out every 5 days, minus staking fees.

Unlike a traditional cryptocurrency exchange, the private keys which provide access to the funds are not held on a server hosted by third parties or the exchange. The investors maintain full custody of their Cardano private keys which are stored on a local PC that is secured with a wallet password. Therefore, Cardano token holders that stake using the Yoroi software wallet are immune to any cryptocurrency exchange hacks or incidents.

Compared to the Yoroi wallet which is a streamlined version of a Cardano wallet, Daedalus is a full wallet node that maintains a full copy of the Cardano blockchain to independently verify each transaction that has occurred. This means investors can choose between delegating their ADA tokens or running their own Cardano node. 

The Daedalus wallet provides full control and operations however is not ideal for beginners. For advanced Cardano investors that want to use a secure software wallet to run their own staking Node, Daedalus is a good option.

Best Places To Stake Cardano: Comparisons

The table below provides a comparison of the best places for Cardano staking in terms of its fixed rates, flexible rates and reward frequency. These figures are estimates only that do not take into account the network inflation metrics and actual rewards can be lower than what is stated here.

Platform	Fixed Rate	Flexible Rate	Reward Frequency	Rating	Promotion	Website	Review
Binance	5.09% / 7.79%	0.48%	Daily	Rating 4.8/5	Up to $100 welcome bonus	Visit Exchange	Binance Review
ByBit	3.50%	1.10%	Daily	Rating 4.8/5	0% trading fees for 30 days (spot only)	Visit Exchange	ByBit Review
Kraken	None	4% - 6%	Weekly	Rating 4.8/5	None available at this time	Visit Exchange	Kraken Review
eToro	None	4.15% - 5.10%	Monthly	Rating 4.6/5	None available at this time	Visit Exchange eToro USA LLC; Investments are subject to market risk, including the possible loss of principal. Archived, "Virtual currencies are highly volatile. Your capital is at risk."	eToro Review
KuCoin	1.5%	None	Daily	Rating 4.6/5	Up to 500 USDT in bonuses	Visit Exchange	KuCoin Review
Crypto.com	2% / 3%	None	Daily	Rating 4.2/5	None available at this time	Visit Exchange	Crypto.com Review
Yoroi Wallet	4.84% - 5.12%	None	5 Days	Rating 4.3/5	None available at this time	Visit Exchange
CEX.IO	2.6%	None	Monthly	Rating 4.2/5	None available at this time	Visit Exchange	CEX.IO Review
Daedalus Wallet	4.56%	None	5 Days	Rating 4.2/5	None available at this time	Visit Exchange
Bitfinex	4% - 5%	None	Weekly	Rating 3.8/5	None available at this time	Visit Exchange	Bitfinex Review

What Does Staking Cardano Mean?

Cardano investors that hold their ADA tokens on the network have a stake in the overall network that is proportional to the number of tokens held. The process known as crypto staking is when the owner delegates the tokens to a staking pool, they are participating in the security and governance of the Cardano proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain network by validating new blocks and processing transactions. In return for contributing to the network, the owner will receive a staking reward or return on their investment.

How To Stake Cardano

The easiest and fastest way to stake Cardano (ADA) is by using a crypto exchange and following these steps:

1. Create an account with a reputable crypto platform such as Binance
2. Purchase or transfer ADA tokens to a Binance wallet
3. Navigate to Binance Staking and select 'Cardano'
4. Choose a staking duration (e.g. 30, 60 or 90 days)
5. Enter the amount of ADA tokens to stake
6. Click on 'Stake now' to finalize and begin staking Cardano

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

To conclude our article on where to stake Cardano, we have assessed and compared the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges and software wallets that allow staking ADA tokens to earn passive rewards. There are pros, cons and several staking risk factors to consider between using a crypto exchange or software wallet that need to be weighed up.

For beginners, we would recommend using a reliable and trusted exchange such as Binance, Kraken and Crypto.com. These platform provide beginner-friendly applications that are simple to use and do not require extensive knowledge to earn ADA staking rewards.

There is also no need to transfer the tokens off the exchange once purchased and can be quickly traded on the exchange to other coins. However, for complete control and ownership of the private keys to staked Cardano, a software wallet such as Yoroi or Daedalus would be the recommended solution. However, these Cardano wallets can take an hour or two to configure which is not ideal for beginners.

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