Stake Link — Frequently Asked Questions

Stake Link is the leading liquid staking protocol built for the Chainlink ecosystem. It enables LINK token holders to participate in Chainlink's official staking program while receiving stLINK — a liquid receipt token that remains fully composable across the DeFi ecosystem.

Founded by the same team behind LinkPool, Stake Link is operated by a curated consortium of 15 top-tier Chainlink node operators. The protocol was built in collaboration with Chainlink Labs as the sole third-party delegated staking solution for Chainlink Economics 2.0.

• Liquid Staking: Deposit LINK, receive stLINK immediately.
• Higher Rewards: Blended rates from both Chainlink staking pools typically exceed the native community rate.
• DeFi Composable: Use stLINK across Curve, Uniswap, Morpho, Folks Finance, and more.
• Non-Custodial: Your assets are secured by audited smart contracts — no custody risk.

stLINK is Stake Link's liquid staking token. When you deposit LINK into the Stake Link protocol, you receive stLINK in return. It is a rebasing ERC-20 token that:

• Represents your proportional share of all LINK staked in the protocol.
• Automatically accrues staking rewards over time — your stLINK balance grows as rewards are distributed.
• Can be freely transferred, traded, or used in DeFi protocols without any lock-up period.
• Is always redeemable for the underlying LINK plus accrued rewards (subject to Chainlink's unbonding period).

There is also wstLINK (wrapped stLINK), a non-rebasing version that is more compatible with certain DeFi protocols like Morpho and Folks Finance.

Staking LINK on Stake Link is a straightforward process designed to be accessible to everyone:

• Visit Stake Link: Navigate to stake-link.my/link/stake and connect your Web3 wallet.
• Approve LINK: Approve the Stake Link contract to spend your LINK tokens.
• Deposit LINK: Enter the amount of LINK you wish to stake and confirm the transaction.
• Priority Pool: If Chainlink's native staking capacity is full, your LINK is queued in the Priority Pool and will be automatically staked when capacity opens.
• Receive stLINK: Once staked, stLINK is minted and available to claim in the dApp. It immediately begins accruing rewards.

There is no minimum amount to stake on Stake Link. The entire process is non-custodial — your LINK is secured by audited smart contracts at all times.

Stake Link has no minimum staking amount. You can deposit any amount of LINK you wish. This is one of the key advantages of Stake Link over native Chainlink staking, which requires a minimum of 1 LINK for community stakers but involves strict allocation limits.

Note that Ethereum gas fees apply to staking transactions, so for very small amounts the gas cost relative to potential rewards should be considered.

Stake Link achieves a higher blended reward rate by strategically distributing LINK across both of Chainlink's native staking pools:

• Node Operator Pool: Rewards are fixed to a percentage of maximum possible stake for that pool — not the actual staked amount. If the pool is not fully utilized, the effective rate for the actual LINK staked can be significantly higher than the base rate.
• Community Pool: Offers a base reward rate, with a portion redirected to node operators.

By intelligently blending deposits across both pools, Stake Link passes a higher blended rate to stakers — minus a transparent protocol fee. This approach consistently delivers reward rates above the native community staking rate.

Please Note: The only legitimate platforms for LINK staking are the official Chainlink staking app at staking.chain.link and the audited, decentralized Stake Link protocol. Always verify URLs carefully.

Rewards from Chainlink's native staking contracts are accrued continuously. Stake Link periodically performs rebase operations that distribute these rewards pro-rata to all stLINK holders by increasing the token's underlying value.

When a rebase occurs, your stLINK balance automatically increases to reflect the rewards earned. You do not need to claim or manually compound — it happens automatically. The rebase frequency depends on the Stake Link protocol's reward distribution schedule.

Note: stLINK rebases are periodically paused during contract upgrades or maintenance. During paused periods, stLINK continues to accrue yield — all accumulated rewards are distributed in the next rebase once the pause is lifted.

Stake Link charges a protocol fee on staking rewards — not on your principal. This fee is deducted before rewards are distributed to stLINK holders. The collected fee is distributed among:

• Node Operators: Compensating the infrastructure providers that secure the Chainlink network.
• SDL Stakers (reSDL holders): Rewarding long-term protocol participants who lock SDL tokens.
• Protocol Treasury: Supporting ongoing development, security, and ecosystem growth.

The exact fee rate and distribution parameters are governed by the Stake Link DAO and are transparently documented in the official protocol documentation.

The Priority Pool is a core Stake Link feature that manages access to Chainlink's finite staking capacity fairly and efficiently.

• Queuing: When Chainlink's native staking contracts are at full capacity (e.g., the 45M LINK limit), new LINK deposits are queued in the Priority Pool.
• Meritocratic Access: Queue priority is determined by your reSDL holdings. Users with more reSDL receive preferential access to available staking slots.
• Automated: When capacity opens, Stake Link automatically processes queued deposits — no manual action needed from users.
• stLINK Minting: Once queued LINK is successfully staked, stLINK is minted and claimable in the dApp. Rewards accrue from the moment staking occurs, regardless of when you claim.

The Priority Pool eliminates gas wars and ensures a fair, automated staking experience for all participants.

SDL is the governance and utility token of the Stake Link protocol. It serves as the backbone of the protocol's decentralized governance and incentive structure.

reSDL is Reward-Escrowed SDL — SDL that has been locked in the Stake Link protocol for a chosen duration. Locking SDL for longer periods yields a higher reSDL balance. Benefits of holding reSDL include:

• Priority Pool Access: Higher reSDL = higher priority for LINK staking slots.
• Protocol Fee Revenue: A share of Stake Link protocol fees is distributed to reSDL holders.
• Governance Voting: Participate in DAO governance decisions affecting the Stake Link protocol.
• stLINK Rewards: reSDL holders receive stLINK rewards from the protocol's revenue share.

Third-party delegated staking is a model where token holders delegate their staking power to professional entities (node operators) to 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. Our platform is operated by a consortium of 15 top-tier Chainlink Node Operators, providing a highly reliable and performant delegation option:

• Capital Pooling: Aggregates LINK from many stakers, enabling node operators to meet minimum stake requirements.
• Shared Security & Rewards: Both node operators and delegating stakers contribute to network security and share in rewards.
• Accessible to All: No technical expertise required — anyone can participate via Stake Link's simple interface.

Stake Link is recognized by Chainlink Labs as the sole authorized third-party delegated staking solution for Chainlink Economics 2.0.

Stake Link maintains one of the most comprehensive security programs in the DeFi ecosystem:

• 5 Independent Security Audits: Sigma Prime, Cyfrin, Zellic, CodeHawks, and Trust Security have all audited the Stake Link smart contracts.
• Active Bug Bounty: An ongoing bug bounty program on Immunefi incentivizes security researchers to find and report vulnerabilities.
• Real-Time Monitoring: Hypernative provides 24/7 threat detection and proactive security monitoring for the protocol.
• Non-Custodial Architecture: No single party, including the Stake Link team, can access user funds unilaterally.
• Transparent Smart Contracts: All smart contracts are open-source and verifiable on-chain.

All audit reports are publicly available on the Stake Link GitHub repository.

As with any DeFi protocol, using Stake Link carries certain risks that users should understand:

• Smart Contract Risk: Despite multiple audits, smart contracts can contain undiscovered bugs. Stake Link mitigates this through continuous audits, bug bounties, and monitoring.
• Staking Slashing Risk: Chainlink's staking contracts include slashing conditions. Node operators in Stake Link are professional, highly reliable operators — but slashing risk cannot be entirely eliminated.
• Liquidity Risk: The stLINK/LINK ratio on secondary markets may deviate from peg during periods of stress or low liquidity.
• Unbonding Period: Withdrawals from Chainlink's native staking contracts are subject to an unbonding period during which funds are locked.
• Smart Contract Upgrades: Protocol upgrades may temporarily pause functionality (such as stLINK rebases).

Always conduct your own research and only stake amounts you are comfortable with. Read the full Terms and Conditions before using the protocol.

Stake Link's stLINK and wstLINK tokens are deeply integrated across the DeFi ecosystem, enabling you to earn additional yield on top of your staking rewards:

• Curve Finance: Provide liquidity to the LINK/stLINK pool to earn trading fees and CRV incentives.
• Uniswap: Trade stLINK or provide concentrated liquidity in the stLINK/LINK pool.
• Morpho: Lend LINK or use wstLINK as collateral to borrow. Also available: the LINK Enhanced vault for passive lending.
• Folks Finance: Lend wstLINK to earn additional yield across chains.
• Beefy Finance: Auto-compound your Curve LP positions for maximum yield.
• CoW Swap: Swap LINK/SDL or LINK/stLINK with MEV protection.
• KyberSwap: Swap ETH/SDL with competitive rates.

Visit the DeFi page on Stake Link for the latest integrations and incentive programs.

To withdraw your LINK from Stake Link:

• Navigate to the Withdraw page on Stake Link.
• Connect your wallet and enter the amount of stLINK you wish to redeem.
• Confirm the withdrawal transaction.
• Your LINK will be returned to your wallet after the Chainlink unbonding period has elapsed.

Alternatively, you can swap stLINK for LINK instantly on secondary markets (Curve, Uniswap, CoW Swap) without waiting for the unbonding period, subject to available liquidity and slippage.

The Stake Link dApp displays real-time status on your withdrawal and the estimated time to completion.

Stake Link is powered by a curated consortium of 15 leading Chainlink node operators and Web3 infrastructure providers, including:

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

These operators represent the cutting edge of Web3 infrastructure and set the standard for reliability, uptime, and network support across the Chainlink ecosystem.