TL;DR – Should I use Crypto.com to stake my crypto?
Crypto.com supports staking for 49 coins, including a variety of stablecoins. You can choose to stake flexibly or for 1- and 3-month terms, with higher rewards, awarded the longer you stake your coins. You can also earn double rewards by staking its native coin, CRO, with your other staked crypto. Rewards range from 0.2% – 14.5% APR depending on the coin and staking term and are paid out weekly.
Pros
Cons
Types of staking on Crypto.com
Crypto.com is one of the most recognisable cryptocurrency brands on the market. Its main goal was to accelerate the world into crypto, and it’s no different with its staking services. For a beginner-focused exchange, Crypto.com offers an extensive list of coins available for staking compared to its closest rivals. It provides 49 coins, and you can choose how long you want to stake for, from flexible to 3 months. Generally, the longer period you choose, the higher the reward will be, but it does come with risks as your asset can depreciate during the lock-up period, and the loss in value could outweigh the rewards made from staking. Crypto.com rewards are quoted in annual percentage rate (APR).
Staking allows you to earn rewards on your crypto by contributing to a particular asset’s Proof of Stake (PoS) network. It’s a great way to earn rewards (interest) on your crypto by letting the blockchain use it to validate transactions. There are numerous different ways to stake, and Crypto.com has a few options available.
To understand the way Crypto.com staking operates, we’ll start by looking at its native coin, Cronos (CRO). Crypto.com gives you the opportunity to earn higher rewards the more CRO you keep in your wallet. This way, you help Crypto.com add liquidity to its coin, enabling it to grow and gain value, and in return, you get rewarded for doing so.
The bonus is that while you hold CRO and stake another coin, you automatically enter your CRO into a staking pool, which means you earn double rewards IF you hold CRO. It is not a requirement to hold any CRO to stake other cryptos, but it can be lucrative to hold both.
Flexible Staking
The most risk-averse way to stake your crypto is by entering it into a flexible staking contract. This means that you can withdraw your crypto from the staking pool at any time and still hold on to the rewards gained, but the rewards are always a lot less than if you were to put your crypto into a locked staking pool. Crypto.com lets you flexibly stake all its coins, but the rewards don’t seem worth it, in our opinion. The most you can get is 5% on DOT and MATIC; the rest of the coins will only give you a potential 0.5% – 2% return, which is less than some banks can give you on your fiat currency.
Locked Staking
Once you start locking your coins, the rewards get slightly better depending on how much you stake and how much CRO you stake. The downside is that locking times start from a minimum of 1 month, and to gain maximum rewards, you need to commit to 3 months. We’re used to seeing minimum lock-up times of a few days, but if you have the spare crypto in your wallet and your goal is to let it grow despite any price fluctuations, this probably won’t matter.
If you lock your crypto in for 1 month and stake no CRO, the rewards start to multiply compared to flexible staking. For example, if you flexibly stake $400 or less of BTC with no CRO, you’ll get a return of 0.2%. But if you stake the same amount and lock it up for 1 month, you’ll get a return of 1.5% BTC. It gets better as you hit 3 months, with the rewards rising to 3%. Each coin is different, and the more CRO you stake, the more return you’ll get on your other staked crypto.
The highest return possible with Crypto.com is 14.5% on DOT and MATIC, but you’ll also need to stake at least USD $40,000 worth of CRO for 3 months (you’ll also get 6% on your CRO), which is no easy feat for intermediate traders, or most advanced traders for that matter. If you just wanted to stake DOT and MATIC without CRO, you’ll get 11%.
14.5% might sound like a lot or even 11% without the CRO, but keep in mind that you can’t touch that crypto for 3 months. We don’t think it’s worth the risk for an extra 6% compared to flexible staking, but your trading strategy might say otherwise.
Staking Management
You can control all your staking from the Earn section on the mobile app. It has a central dashboard that shows all your staked coins, the rewards you’ve made, and the length of time left on your specific staking contract.
Staking on the app
Crypto.com believes that if it can develop an excellent mobile app for its services, there is no need for a desktop platform. Because of this, Crypto.com Earn is only available on the mobile app. You can access the staking services by clicking the central Crypto.com logo on the home screen and select Earn. We found it very straightforward; just click on the asset you want to stake, choose the staking term and confirm your selection.
Conclusion
As Crypto.com is one of the most well-known crypto exchanges, predominantly aiming its services at the beginner and intermediate traders’ market, we think it’s done well to introduce a vast amount of staking options to an otherwise advanced trading feature. With its extensive list of coins available to stake and the opportunity to stake flexibly, it’s an excellent platform to gain some staking experience.
Unfortunately, the rewards are very low for flexible staking, and they only become attractive if you lock up your coins for 1 or 3 months. If your strategy is to buy and hold crypto for an extensive period, then Crypto.com locked staking could be an excellent option. But if you are more interested in flexible staking and having the freedom to unstake your crypto when you please, then we don’t think Crypto.com would suit your needs with its very low flexible staking rewards.
Frequently Asked Questions
Crypto.com have made it easy to stake with the Earn section in the mobile app. We don’t think beginner traders will have much trouble navigating the staking options.
Crypto.com supports 49 different coins, including some of the biggest by market cap, like BTC and ETH.
Yes, and quite a few at that: Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), Dai (DAI), TrueAUD, TrueUSD, TrueCAD, and TrueGBP.
No, you can choose to stake flexibly, 1 month or 3 months. The longer you commit to locking up your crypto, the more reward you will receive.
Rewards vary depending on the coin you stake, the period you stake for and whether you stake CRO or not. BTC and ETH starts at 0.2% and can get as high as 4%, CRO 2% – 6%, DOT and MATIC 1.15% – 14.5%, SOL 0.25% – 4.5%, AVAX, FLOW, and ONE 0.25% – 6%, ATOM and EGLD 0.35% – 5%, Stablecoins 0.4% – 8%, and all other coins 0.1% – 3%. Rewards are paid in the same currency as your allocated currency. So, for example, if you stake ETH, you will earn rewards in ETH.
Crypto.com pays rewards every 7 days, and you can use the rewards as soon as they become available in your crypto wallet.
If you take it at face value, it may seem like it with its support for 49 coins and choice of stablecoins, but rewards only become semi-attractive if you lock your crypto in for at least 3 months. If you stake CRO with another crypto, it becomes attractive, but, in our opinion, you need to be staking $4000 or more worth of CRO for it to be worth it.