Frequently Asked Questions about Stake Link

Stake Link is the leading liquid staking protocol for the Chainlink ecosystem. It enables LINK holders to stake their tokens through Chainlink's official native staking pools while receiving stLINK — a liquid receipt token that continues to earn rewards and can be freely used across the broader DeFi ecosystem.

Stake Link was built in collaboration with Chainlink Labs as the sole third-party delegated staking solution for Chainlink Economics 2.0. The protocol is operated by a consortium of 15 leading Chainlink node operators.

Liquid staking is a mechanism that solves the core limitation of traditional Proof-of-Stake staking: your tokens are usually locked and unavailable during the staking period. With liquid staking:

• You deposit LINK into the Stake Link protocol.
• You receive stLINK — a liquid token representing your staked position plus accrued rewards.
• stLINK is composable — use it in DeFi, trade it, or hold it while still earning staking rewards.
• No manual intervention required — Stake Link handles all staking operations automatically on your behalf.

stLINK is Stake Link's liquid staking token. When your LINK is successfully staked through the Stake Link protocol into Chainlink's native staking contracts, stLINK is minted and made available for you to claim in the Stake Link dApp.

stLINK is a rebasing token: its balance automatically increases as staking rewards accumulate — you don't need to claim rewards manually. stLINK can be:

• Held to passively accumulate rewards
• Traded on DEXs like Curve or Uniswap
• Used as collateral in lending protocols like Morpho
• Supplied to liquidity pools for additional yield

Note: stLINK rebases are currently paused due to a contract upgrade. stLINK continues to accrue yield, which will be distributed in the next rebase event.

Third-party delegated staking refers to a model where token holders delegate their tokens to professional infrastructure operators (node operators) who perform staking duties on their behalf.

Stake Link acts as a decentralized, trust-minimized protocol that facilitates delegated liquid staking into Chainlink's official pools. Benefits include:

• Capital Pooling: Individual stakers combine their LINK, enabling node operators to meet minimum stake requirements.
• Shared Rewards: Both node operators and delegating stakers earn rewards proportionally.
• Professional Operations: Stake Link's 15 node operators maintain industry-leading uptime and reliability standards.

Stake Link strategically allocates LINK into both of Chainlink's native staking pools:

• Node Operator Staking Pool: Features a significantly higher reward rate because node operator rewards are fixed to a percentage of the maximum possible stake, not the actual staked amount. When this pool is underutilized, effective rates for staked LINK are much higher.
• Community Staking Pool: Offers the standard community reward rate.

By blending rewards from both pools and distributing them proportionally to all stakers (less a protocol fee), Stake Link delivers an optimized APY that typically exceeds native community staking rates alone.

The reward rate on Stake Link is dynamic and depends on Chainlink's staking pool configuration, total LINK staked, and the distribution between the Node Operator and Community pools. You can view the current live reward rate directly on the Stake Link homepage or staking dashboard.

At the time of the last update, the LINK staking reward rate through Stake Link was approximately 4.79% APY. This figure fluctuates as protocol conditions change.

Yes. Stake Link deducts a protocol fee from the gross staking rewards before distributing them to stakers. This fee covers the costs of operating the protocol, compensating node operators, and sustaining ongoing development.

The net reward rate displayed on the Stake Link platform already reflects this fee deduction, so the APY shown is what you actually receive. Please refer to the official Stake Link documentation for the current fee structure.

Staking LINK with Stake Link is designed to be simple and fully automated:

• 1. Visit the Stake Link dApp at stake.link and navigate to the LINK staking section.
• 2. Connect your wallet (MetaMask, WalletConnect, Coinbase Wallet, and more are supported).
• 3. Deposit your LINK. Enter the amount you wish to stake and confirm the transaction.
• 4. Priority Pool (if at capacity). If Chainlink's native staking capacity is full, your LINK enters the Priority Pool queue. Higher reSDL holdings give you priority access.
• 5. Auto-Staking. When staking capacity opens, Stake Link automatically stakes your queued LINK.
• 6. Claim stLINK. Once staked, stLINK is minted and available to claim in the dApp. It immediately begins accruing rewards.

The Priority Pool is Stake Link's queue system that activates when Chainlink's native staking contracts reach maximum capacity.

• Queuing: LINK deposited when the staking pools are full is automatically held in the Priority Pool.
• Meritocratic Access: Priority for available staking slots is determined by your reSDL balance — users with more reSDL get staked first.
• Automated: When capacity opens, Stake Link automatically stakes the queued LINK, starting with highest-priority users. No manual action is needed.
• Reward Accrual: stLINK begins accruing rewards from the moment your LINK is staked, regardless of when you claim the token.

The Priority Pool prevents gas wars and rewards long-term participants in the Stake Link ecosystem.

To withdraw your staked LINK from Stake Link, you have two main options:

• Protocol Withdrawal Queue: Navigate to the Withdraw section in the Stake Link dApp, submit your stLINK for withdrawal. Your LINK will be returned as capacity becomes available in Chainlink's native staking contracts.
• DEX Swap: Swap your stLINK directly for LINK on integrated decentralized exchanges such as Curve or Uniswap for immediate liquidity (subject to pool depth and slippage).

The DEX route offers instant liquidity but may incur slippage. The protocol withdrawal route has no slippage but requires waiting for staking capacity to free up.

Stake Link allows users to stake any amount of LINK, with no meaningful minimum threshold imposed by the protocol itself. This differs from Chainlink's own native staking, which may have minimum requirements for individual community stakers.

By pooling capital from many participants, Stake Link makes LINK staking accessible to users of all portfolio sizes. Note that Ethereum network gas fees apply to each transaction, so staking very small amounts may not be economically efficient.

Stake Link takes a comprehensive, multi-layered approach to security:

• Five Independent Audits: The Stake Link smart contracts have been audited by Cyfrin, Sigma Prime, Zellic, CodeHawks, and Trust Security — five of the most respected security firms in the blockchain industry.
• Bug Bounty: An active bug bounty program is maintained on Immunefi, incentivizing white-hat researchers to responsibly disclose vulnerabilities.
• Real-Time Monitoring: Stake Link is continuously monitored by Hypernative for on-chain anomalies and threat detection.
• Open Source: All smart contract code is publicly available on GitHub for community review.

All audit reports are available in the Stake Link GitHub repository.

Yes. Stake Link operates as a decentralized, trust-minimized protocol on Ethereum. Key aspects of its decentralization include:

• On-chain governance: Protocol decisions are made via on-chain governance mechanisms through SDL token holders and Snapshots.
• Distributed node operators: The protocol is operated by 15 independent node operator teams, reducing single points of failure.
• Non-custodial: Stake Link is non-custodial — your assets interact with smart contracts directly, and no centralized party holds your LINK.

As with any DeFi protocol, there are risks to be aware of when using Stake Link:

• Smart Contract Risk: Despite multiple audits, no smart contract can be guaranteed 100% bug-free. Users should only stake amounts they are comfortable with.
• Slashing Risk: If a Chainlink node operator behaves maliciously or negligently, they could be slashed by the Chainlink protocol. Stake Link operates with vetted, professional node operators to minimize this risk.
• stLINK Depeg Risk: The market price of stLINK on DEXs can deviate from its underlying LINK value, particularly in periods of low liquidity.
• Withdrawal Timing: Withdrawals through the protocol queue are subject to Chainlink's staking unbonding periods.

Always exercise caution. The only legitimate platforms for LINK staking are the official Chainlink native staking app (staking.chain.link) and Stake Link.

Stake Link's stLINK and SDL tokens are integrated across a growing list of DeFi protocols:

• Curve: Provide liquidity to the LINK/stLINK stable pool and earn trading fees.
• Uniswap: Trade LINK/stLINK and LINK/SDL pairs.
• Beefy: Auto-compound Curve LP yields.
• CoW Swap: Trade LINK/stLINK with MEV-protected swaps.
• Kyber: Swap ETH/SDL and other token pairs.
• Morpho: Lend LINK, borrow against wstLINK collateral.
• Folks Finance: Lend wstLINK cross-chain.

Visit the Stake Link DeFi page for the full list of integrations and incentive programs.

SDL is the governance and utility token of the Stake Link protocol. SDL holders participate in governance decisions and can earn additional protocol rewards.

reSDL (Reward Escrowed SDL) is the staked form of SDL. By locking SDL for a chosen period, users receive reSDL which:

• Grants priority access in the Stake Link Priority Pool for LINK staking
• Entitles holders to a share of protocol revenue, distributed as stLINK rewards
• Provides boosted governance weight within the Stake Link DAO

The longer you lock your SDL, the higher your reSDL balance and the greater your priority and rewards within Stake Link.

Stake Link is operated by a curated consortium of 15 leading Chainlink node operators and Web3 infrastructure providers. These teams represent the gold standard in reliability, uptime, and Chainlink network support. The operators include:

• 01NODE, ChainLayer, Framework Ventures, Galaxy, inotel
• LinkForest.io, LinkPool, LinkRiver, Matrixed.Link, Orion Staking
• Pier Two, Simply Staking, stakefish, Stakin, Tiingo

This distributed operator set ensures no single point of failure and maintains the highest standards of performance for the Stake Link protocol.

In addition to LINK, Stake Link supports liquid staking for a growing number of tokens across multiple ecosystems:

• SDL — Stake the Stake Link governance token to earn reSDL and protocol revenue.
• ESP (Espresso) — Liquid stake Espresso tokens and receive stESP.
• POL (Polygon) — Liquid stake POL tokens and receive stPOL/wstPOL.

Each staking product is available through dedicated sections of the Stake Link dApp, with its own reward rate, liquidity options, and DeFi integrations.