Ethereum staking pays about 2.5% a year at the network level, according to Staking Rewards data on 18 October 2026. Much bigger numbers still circulate. Kraken advertised staking returns of as much as 21 percent before its 2023 settlement with the SEC, per the regulator's press release, and yield products today still headline 15% or more. A figure like that is often a ceiling, earned on a small high-inflation coin, behind a lockup, after paying for a membership tier, or from a different source of yield altogether. On ETH, the staking rate you keep is the network rate minus whatever the platform takes.
EarnPark, which publishes this blog, also appears in some yield comparisons, but its ETH and SOL products are not staking. The advertised rates come from managed strategies rather than from validator rewards passed through to you, so we cover them separately after the staking comparison.
This guide compares the routes to staking in 2026, from running your own validator to liquid staking protocols and exchange staking, and then managed yield as a separate alternative. Net rates, commissions, exit times and custody are laid out side by side. If you hold coins that cannot be staked at all, our guides on Bitcoin staking and staking XRP cover what is really on offer.
Every staking platform starts from the same network rate
Proof of stake networks pay validators, the operators who process transactions, in newly issued coins and fees for locking up collateral and keeping the chain running. The protocol sets that reward, not the platform. No staking provider can pay more on ETH than Ethereum itself pays unless it adds something else on top, such as extra trading rewards, leverage or a promotion. Everything a platform does to the network rate is a subtraction (its commission), a delay (how long you wait to get out) or a risk (who holds the keys).
Here is where the major networks stood on 18 October 2026.
| Asset | Network reward rate | Total wait to unstake |
|---|---|---|
| ETH | 2.52% | About 23 days in total, roughly 16 days in the exit queue (the line of validators waiting to leave) plus about 7 days for the payout sweep |
| SOL | 4.95% | 2 to 3 days, one epoch (Solana's staking cycle) |
| ADA | 2.14% | None, delegated ADA stays spendable |
| DOT | 2.77% | 28 days |
| ATOM | 19.84% | 21 days |
Reward rates come from Staking Rewards for SOL, ADA, DOT and ATOM, which is also the source for the SOL, DOT and ATOM unstaking times. The Ethereum queue figures are from Validator Queue and move daily. Cardano's no lockup rule is stated on Cardano.org. Polkadot has approved a dynamic unbonding system that could shorten its wait to as little as 2 days when the queue is quiet, per the same Staking Rewards page, though its implementation timeline was still uncertain at the time of writing.
ATOM shows why a high nominal rate needs context. The 19.84% reward is paid in newly issued ATOM, and Cosmos Hub inflation runs at 12.69% on the same Staking Rewards data, so part of each reward is offset by the growth in supply. Inflation reduces the purchasing power gain without wiping it out. Before fees and price moves, a staker's share of the network grows by roughly 6% a year, while holders who do not stake are diluted.
The best staking platforms at a glance
The table compares each staking option on ETH, the most staked asset by value, so the numbers line up. Rates are as of October 2026.
| Platform | Route | Who holds the coins | ETH rate you keep | What the platform takes | Getting out |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your own validator | Native staking | You | About 2.5% | Nothing, but you need 32 ETH and hardware | About 23 days (Ethereum exit queue plus sweep) |
| Lido (stETH) | Liquid staking | Smart contracts | About 2.2% | 10% of rewards | Sell stETH, or redeem through the protocol queue |
| Rocket Pool (rETH) | Liquid staking | Smart contracts and node operators | About 2.0% | A share of rewards to node operators | Sell rETH, or redeem through the protocol |
| Coinbase | Exchange staking | Coinbase | About 1.6% on a 2.5% network rate | 35% of rewards (not of your balance), less for paid Coinbase One tiers | Network wait, or a fee for instant unstaking |
| Kraken | Exchange staking (bonded only on ETH) | Kraken | About 1.9% on a 2.5% network rate, for balances under $1M | 25% of rewards on bonded staking under $1M, 30% on flexible products for other coins | An unbonding wait, which Kraken states per asset |
| Binance (WBETH) | Exchange token | Binance | About 2.2% | Check its current terms | Redeem or trade WBETH |
Lido, Rocket Pool and WBETH rates are DefiLlama readings for stETH, rETH and WBETH on 18 October 2026. The Coinbase and Kraken figures are our arithmetic on each exchange's published commission. Exchange terms are per each exchange's own published terms, covered in detail below.
A yield alternative, not staking
EarnPark is left out of the table above on purpose. As of October 2026 it advertises up to 15% on ETH, a strategy-dependent figure for managed yield from trading and DeFi strategies. That is not a staking reward and not directly comparable to a network staking rate. We explain where it comes from, and what it costs in risk and withdrawal terms, in its own section below.
Native staking, the full rate for those who can run it
Running your own Ethereum validator takes 32 ETH, about $76,000 at the CoinGecko price on 18 October 2026, plus hardware that stays online around the clock. In exchange, nobody takes a cut. You keep the whole network rate and your own keys, and you carry the whole operational risk, including slashing. That is the penalty Ethereum applies when a validator breaks its rules, for example by double signing, which means approving two conflicting versions of the same block.
On most other chains native staking is far easier. Solana, Cardano, Polkadot and Cosmos all let you delegate from your own wallet to a validator who does the work and keeps a commission. That commission varies a lot. Among the top listed providers on the Staking Rewards pages for SOL and ADA on 18 October, fees ran from 0% to over 16%, so the validator you pick matters more than the wallet you use. Our Solana staking guide and the walkthrough on staking SUI go through validator choice chain by chain.
Native staking suits holders who are comfortable managing a wallet, want no middleman, and can live with the unstaking wait on their chain. On Cardano that wait is zero. On Polkadot it is four weeks.
Liquid staking protocols, staking that stays tradable
Liquid staking hands you a token that represents your staked coins and their rewards, so the position stays usable while it earns. You can sell it at any time instead of waiting out the network queue, although in stressed markets the token can trade below the value of the coins you could redeem it for. Our explainer on liquid staking covers the mechanics and the costs in detail.
Lido
Lido is the largest liquid staking protocol by a wide margin, with about $23.1 billion in stETH per DefiLlama on 18 October 2026. It charges 10% of staking rewards, split between node operators and the DAO treasury, per its own documentation, and stETH paid about 2.2% after that fee. Lido's own materials flag smart contract and slashing risk. It fits ETH holders who want close to the network rate, no 32 ETH minimum, and a token that many DeFi protocols accept.
Rocket Pool
Rocket Pool spreads validation across independent node operators. Each operator puts up 4 ETH of its own per validator, matched with 28 ETH from liquid stakers, per the Rocket Pool docs. That bond gives operators something to lose if they perform badly. rETH paid about 2.0% on 18 October and averaged about 2.1% over the prior 30 days per DefiLlama, on roughly $1.2 billion staked. It is the pick for holders who weigh decentralisation over a fraction of a percent.
Jito
Jito is among the largest liquid staking tokens on Solana, with about $1.1 billion staked per DefiLlama. JitoSOL earns both staking rewards and MEV rewards, the extra income validators collect from ordering transactions, per the Jito docs. It paid about 4.8% on 18 October. Liquid staking tokens can also be restaked for extra yield, which stacks extra risk on top. Our guide to restaking covers that trade.
Exchange staking, convenient and gated
Exchanges make staking a single button and keep custody of your coins. Among the examples in this guide, they also take the largest cut. They show the clearest examples of a gated ceiling too, where the best rate goes to customers who pay for a tier or hold a large balance.
Coinbase
Coinbase charges a standard 35% commission on staking rewards for ADA, ATOM, AVAX, DOT, ETH, MATIC, SOL and XTZ, per its own fee disclosures as of October 2026. The commission is a share of the rewards, not of your balance. Paying Coinbase One members get lower commission on most of those assets, 31.75%, 28.5% or 25.25% depending on the tier. The APY shown in the app is already after commission, which is a fair way to display it. On a 2.5% ETH network rate, 35% leaves roughly 1.6%. A standard unstake waits for the network, and instant unstaking costs a fee.
Kraken
Kraken's in-app staking APYs are estimates shown before its commission, per its own terms as of October 2026, so the number you see is not the number you get. Kraken runs two kinds of staking. Flexible staking lets you unstake at any time, and it and Auto Earn carry a 30% commission. For assets with an unbonding period, Kraken pays flexible rewards on up to half of the balance and keeps the rest unstaked for liquidity, so on an asset with a 2.5% network rate that works out to at most about 0.9% on the full balance. Bonded staking keeps your coins locked through the network's unbonding wait and costs 25% for balances under $1M, falling in tiers to 0% above $100M, so the best rate belongs to the largest holders. ETH is offered as bonded staking only. Kraken settled with the SEC in 2023 and agreed to stop offering the staking program the regulator had charged, and its staking availability still varies by region.
Binance
Binance offers ETH staking through WBETH, a token it issues for staked ETH that rises in value against ETH as rewards accrue, and it paid about 2.2% on DefiLlama's reading of 18 October. It also runs flexible Earn products, which you can leave at any time, and locked ones, which hold your coins for a fixed term, on many other coins, with rates that move often. Our Binance Earn review covers how those tiers work.
EarnPark, managed yield rather than staking
EarnPark is not a staking platform. If your goal is validator rewards, the options above are the relevant comparison. If you hold ETH or SOL and are considering managed yield from trading or DeFi instead, EarnPark is a separate option with different risks and withdrawal terms.
On ETH, SOL, ADA and DOT, the yield comes from a trading desk running strategies such as market making, which means posting both a buy and a sell price on an exchange and earning the small gap between them. Others use DeFi, meaning lending and trading protocols that run on a blockchain rather than through a company. Some of these strategies stake part of what they buy as one input, but what you receive is the strategy's rate or result, not a network staking reward passed through to you. The only products EarnPark labels as staking are a POL liquid staking strategy and staking for PARK, the platform's own token.
As of 18 October 2026 the live asset pages show up to 15% APY on ETH, up to 20% on SOL, up to 7% on DOT and up to 5% on ADA. These figures are strategy-dependent. In the app on the same date, the top of the ETH and SOL ranges came from Alpha Vault, labelled Market-Exposed because it holds roughly half coin and half stablecoin and its results move with the market, and it pays out and settles withdrawals monthly. Maker Core, labelled Market-Neutral, paid 4% on ETH and 7% on SOL, with a 30 day bonding period where a withdrawal request waits before the coins are released. The DeFi strategies, labelled Cross-Venue, paid 5% on ETH and 6.5% on SOL and allow instant withdrawals. On DOT and ADA the published rate comes from Maker Core alone. The app shows each strategy's current rate, risk label and withdrawal terms before you deposit.
How the rate is paid also depends on the strategy. Under the Maker Core terms in EarnPark's help centre, what you receive is a target rate shown after the company's margin. If the strategy earns more, the excess goes to the company. If it loses money, the loss reduces the value of your participation and you can get back less than you deposited, so your upside is capped at the target while your downside is not. The displayed rate is a target, not a guaranteed return.
The comparison with exchanges is about how the advertised rate is reached. EarnPark's published rate does not require holding PARK, with no token requirement or loyalty tier to reach it. Coinbase offers lower staking commissions to some Coinbase One members, while Kraken's bonded commission varies by balance tier. These are different products and trade-offs, not a direct comparison of staking returns.
The custody trade-off is real too. Depositing moves your coins to the company, and under the Maker Core terms you hold an unsecured contractual claim against it rather than ownership of specific coins, with no compensation scheme behind it. The reserve report dated 10 October 2026 put 76% of reserves on exchange accounts at Binance and 0% in cold wallets, and it is prepared by the EarnPark group itself rather than independently audited. Some strategies have had losing years, and the trading desk page above lists them.
What can go wrong on each route
Slashing is a penalty the network applies when a validator breaks its rules. Native and liquid staking can expose users to slashing-related losses, with how losses are allocated depending on the validator or protocol. Cardano is an exception and does not slash at all, per the same Staking Rewards data. Liquid staking adds smart contract risk and the chance that the token trades at a discount when you need to sell. Exchange and managed routes add counterparty risk, meaning your outcome depends on the company holding your coins staying solvent and honest. That is why proof of reserves reports, and who signs them, matter for any custodial option, ours included.
Price risk sits on top of every route. A fall in the coin's price can outweigh the rewards you earn.
How the SEC staff framed protocol staking
In May 2025 the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance published a staff statement setting out its view that specified protocol staking activities, including some custodial arrangements where a platform stakes coins on behalf of its customers, do not involve the offer and sale of securities when the conditions in the statement are met. An August 2025 statement set out a similar view on certain liquid staking activities. Both are nonbinding staff views with no legal force, the Commission itself has not approved them, and neither is a blanket rule for every exchange staking product. They also do not address products that pay a rate from trading strategies. For what a given platform offers today, check its current terms.
Who each staking platform is best for
Native staking is best for holders with the skills to manage a wallet and pick a validator, especially on Cardano or Solana where delegation is simple and the unstaking wait is short or zero. Lido suits ETH holders who want close to the full network rate in a token they can use elsewhere. Rocket Pool suits the same holders when decentralisation matters to them more than a few basis points. Jito is the natural liquid option for SOL.
Coinbase is best for beginners who value a familiar app and accept a 35% commission for it, and Kraken for larger holders who can reach its lower bonded tiers. Binance suits users already active there who want ETH staking in token form. EarnPark is for readers considering managed yield on ETH or SOL instead of validator rewards, who accept the custody, strategy and withdrawal terms involved.
Verdict on the best staking platforms in 2026
For staking, compare how much of the network reward you keep after fees. On that measure native delegation and Lido are the strongest defaults, with Rocket Pool and Jito close behind. Among the exchanges covered here, Coinbase and Kraken take 25% to 35% of ETH rewards for balances under $1M. Before you compare headline percentages, check three things. Is the rate shown before or after commission, is the best rate tied to a tier or token, and how long would it take to get your coins back.
If you are considering a different source of yield, such as trading or DeFi strategies, evaluate it as a separate product with its own risks. Our staking calculator lets you model either kind of rate over time, and our broader guide to earning crypto covers options beyond yield.
If you are considering managed yield on ETH or SOL rather than staking rewards, review the strategy's rate, risk label and withdrawal terms before depositing, then Start earning.
FAQ
Which staking option is easier for a beginner?
An exchange is usually simpler to use, while liquid staking requires a self-custody wallet. The trade-off is cost. Coinbase took a 35% standard commission on ETH rewards as of October 2026, while Lido's 10% fee leaves you about 90% of the network reward. Start with an amount you can afford to leave staked or expose to loss.
Which staking platform has the lowest fees?
The staking route with the lowest fees is native staking, where you run your own validator or delegate from your wallet and pay only the validator's commission. Among liquid staking protocols, Lido charges 10% of rewards per its own documentation. Among the exchanges covered here, Coinbase takes 35% as standard and Kraken 25% to 30% for balances under $1M, per their own terms as of October 2026.
Is staking crypto safe?
Staking crypto is not risk free, and the risks depend on the route you choose. Native and liquid staking can expose you to slashing-related losses and, for liquid tokens, smart contract bugs and price discounts. Exchange staking adds the risk that the exchange fails. Price risk applies to every route, because a 3% reward does not offset a 30% fall in the coin itself.
How long does it take to unstake crypto?
The time it takes to unstake crypto depends on the network. As of October 2026, leaving Ethereum staking took about 23 days in total, an exit queue of about 16 days plus a withdrawal sweep of about a week. Solana took 2 to 3 days, Cosmos 21 days and Polkadot 28 days, while delegated Cardano was never locked. Liquid staking tokens let you sell instead of waiting.
Can you lose money staking crypto?
You can lose money staking crypto in several ways. A validator can be slashed, a liquid staking token can trade below what it redeems for when you need to sell, and a custodial platform can fail. Above all, a fall in the coin's price can outweigh the rewards you earn.
Is crypto staking legal in the US?
US rules on crypto staking are not set by one blanket rule. In May 2025 the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance said in a staff statement that specified protocol staking activities, including some custodial arrangements, do not involve securities offerings when its conditions are met. That is a nonbinding staff view with no legal force. Whether a given platform offers staking to you depends on its current terms, so check those before you stake.