stLINK rebases are currently halted due to a contract upgrade - stLINK is still accruing yield which is distributed in the next rebase
Total Rewards
$ 5,727,639
Total Value Locked (TVL)
$ 58,216,623
Reward Rate
4.79%
Protocol Overview
Transparent, verifiable data showcasing protocol activity and total value secured.
Protocol Rewards
$ 11,321,936
Protocol TVL
$ 66,442,518
Secured by the Leading Auditors
stake.link has been independently audited by five of the industry's leading security experts.
Discover the node operators
powering stake.link
stake.link is powered by 15 leading Chainlink node operators and Web3 infrastructure providers. These teams represent the cutting edge, and set the standard across all of Web3 for reliability, uptime, and network support.
Ecosystem Participant
In collaboration with Chainlink Labs as the sole third-party delegated staking solution for Chainlink Economics 2.0.
Learn
Guides and tutorials to help you get the most out of stake.link. View all guides →
How to Stake ESP (Espresso)
Step-by-step guide to staking Espresso (ESP) tokens on stake.link and receiving stESP liquid staking tokens to earn validator rewards.
What is Liquid Staking?
Learn what liquid staking is, how it works, and why it's transforming DeFi by unlocking the value of staked assets.
How to Stake LINK
Step-by-step guide to staking LINK tokens on stake.link and receiving stLINK liquid staking tokens.
Frequently Asked Questions
Read the full FAQ
- 01What is liquid staking?
Liquid staking is an innovative mechanism that addresses the inherent illiquidity of traditional Proof-of-Stake (PoS) staking. In conventional PoS systems, your tokens are locked for set periods (unbonding periods), rendering them unusable for other purposes until they are unstaked. stake.link's liquid staking solution, $stLINK, resolves this by providing:
- Immediate Liquidity: When you deposit $LINK for staking with stake.link, you receive $stLINK, a receipt token that represents your staked $LINK plus accrued rewards. $stLINK is fully composable, meaning it can be immediately utilized across the DeFi ecosystem—for lending, as collateral, or for liquidity provision—without waiting for unbonding periods.
- Continued Yield: While $stLINK offers liquidity, your underlying $LINK continues to earn staking rewards from Chainlink's official pools, ensuring you don't sacrifice yield for flexibility
This dual benefit allows you to maintain capital efficiency and participate actively in DeFi while still contributing to the cryptoeconomic security of the Chainlink network.
- 02What is third-party delegated staking?
Third-party delegated staking refers to a model where token holders delegate their staking power (their tokens) to a professional entity (a node operator, validator, or sequencer) to perform staking duties on their behalf. This contrasts with directly staking as a solo operator.
The problem it solves: At scale, operating robust, secure, and performant staking infrastructure requires significant technical expertise, capital, and continuous oversight. Many individual token holders may lack the resources or desire to run their own nodes. Delegated staking allows:
- Capital Pooling: It aggregates capital from many individual stakers, enabling node operators to meet minimum stake requirements and provide sufficient collateral for their operational responsibilities within a Proof-of-Stake network.
- Shared Security & Rewards: Both the professional node operator and the delegating staker contribute to the network's cryptoeconomic security and share in the generated rewards, creating a more inclusive and robust security model.
How stake.link fits: stake.link acts as a decentralized, trust-minimized protocol that facilitates delegated liquid staking into Chainlink's official pools. Our platform is operated by a consortium of 15 top-tier Chainlink Node Operators, offering a highly reliable and performant delegation option to the community.
- 03How does stake.link offer a better LINK reward rate than native Chainlink Staking?
stake.link offers a blended and optimized reward rate by strategically depositing $LINK into both of Chainlink's native staking pools: the Node Operator Staking Pool and the Community Staking Pool.
Chainlink's native staking v0.2 has distinct reward dynamics:
- The Community Staking Pool has a base reward rate, with a portion paid to the Node Operator Pool, resulting in a lower effective rate for community stakers (~4.32%).
- The Node Operator Staking Pool has a significantly higher minimum effective rate, but critically, node operator rewards are fixed to a percentage of the maximum possible stake for that pool, rather than the actual staked amount. This means if the Node Operator pool is not fully utilized, the effective reward rate for the actual LINK staked by Node Operators can be much higher
When you stake your $LINK with stake.link, our protocol intelligently blends these rates, distributing rewards from both pools proportionally, less a protocol fee.
Please Note:
Always exercise extreme caution regarding staking opportunities. The only legitimate platforms for $LINK staking are the official Chainlink Native Staking application at staking.chain.link and the trusted, audited decentralized liquid staking protocol, stake.link. Be vigilant against fake announcements or scam websites.
- 04How do I stake my LINK?
Staking your $LINK with stake.link is designed for a seamless, "set-and-forget" experience:
- Visit the stake.link platform: Navigate to the $LINK staking section.
- Deposit Your $LINK: Deposit your desired amount of $LINK into the stake.link protocol.
- Priority Pool: If Chainlink's native staking capacity is currently full, your deposited $LINK will automatically be queued in the stake.link Priority Pool. This pool operates on a meritocratic basis, prioritizing users with higher $reSDL holdings for staking access.
- Auto-Staking: Once space becomes available in Chainlink's native staking contracts, the stake.link protocol will automatically stake your queued $LINK on your behalf, without you needing to monitor or manually intervene.
- Receive $stLINK: Upon successful staking into Chainlink's native contracts, $stLINK will be minted and made available for you to claim in the stake.link dApp. Your $stLINK will immediately begin accruing rewards and can be used within DeFi.
This process ensures your $LINK eventually gets staked, earning rewards, while you gain the flexibility of a liquid staking token.
- 05What is the Priority Pool?
The Priority Pool is a core feature of the stake.link protocol designed to provide fair and efficient access to Chainlink's native staking capacity, particularly when the official pools are full.
Here's how it works:
- Queuing Mechanism: When the maximum capacity for Chainlink Native Staking is met (e.g., 45,000,000 $LINK), any $LINK deposited into stake.link is automatically queued within the Priority Pool.
- Meritocratic Access: Unlike a simple first-come, first-served queue, access to available staking spots is meritocratically prioritized by your $reSDL (Staked $SDL) holdings. Users with a greater commitment to the stake.link protocol, as represented by their $reSDL balance, receive preferential access to staking capacity.
- Automated Staking: As soon as space opens up in the Chainlink Native Staking Contracts (due to unbonding or capacity increases), the stake.link protocol automatically processes and stakes the $LINK from the Priority Pool, starting with the highest priority users.
- $stLINK Distribution: Once your $LINK is successfully staked, $stLINK is minted. It is claimable by $reSDL holders first, followed by non-$reSDL holders if additional capacity allowed their $LINK to be staked. Your $stLINK will accrue rewards from the moment your underlying $LINK is staked, regardless of when you claim it.
The Priority Pool ensures a smooth, automated, and fair process for $LINK staking, insulating users from gas wars and rewarding long-term protocol engagement.
Stake Link — The Leading Liquid Staking Protocol for Chainlink
Stake your LINK with Stake Link and earn the highest rewards while keeping your assets liquid across DeFi.