Earn up to 7% APY on your crypto.

Staking is a method of verifying and securing transactions on proof of stake blockchains. It’s faster and more energy efficient than other methods such as proof of work. Plus, participants get rewarded for helping in the process. In exchange for delegating  your crypto, you get rewarded with more assets from the network. To generate staking rewards on a Proof of Stake blockchain, a node has to designate a certain amount of tokens on the network as a stake (similar to a security deposit). The chance of that node being chosen to validate the next block is typically proportional to the number of tokens being staked. If the node successfully validates a block, it is awarded the staking reward, similar to a miner being rewarded in Proof of Work chains. Validators lose part of their stake if they approve a fraudulent transaction — this incentivizes them to only approve valid transactions.

Visit our help center to see which assets earn staking rewards on Coinbase.

To stake on Coinbase, you must have your identity verified with a valid TIN on file, and reside in a location where staking is allowed. Visit our help center page to learn more about eligibility.

ETH staking, like other staking, allows you to delegate your ETH to help secure the blockchain and earn rewards in return. However, currently ETH staking works differently in some ways. To learn more see this help center page.

Staking requires assets to be locked on the protocol in order to earn rewards. During this time you won't be able to trade or transfer your assets. The lock up periods are defined by protocols (like Ethereum or Solana) and can range from a few hours to a few days. Coinbase does not impose any lock up periods. No additional lockup periods are imposed by Coinbase. You may request your staked assets be traded, transferred or unstaked at any time, and Coinbase will use commercially reasonable efforts to execute, subject to protocol requirements. Note that staked ETH (ETH2) is currently locked up by the protocol until the Ethereum upgrade, and you cannot sell or transfer your staked ETH (ETH2) or ETH staking rewards until the upgrade is complete.

Another risk is the possible slashing of staked assets or rewards. Although it’s unlikely, there is a possibility you could lose your staked assets or rewards in case of a network or validator failure. We’ve taken measures to reduce these risks, but some events are outside our control.

One last thing to note is that the yield earned by staking is not reflective of the asset price. The staking APY is independent from the asset price which is set by the market.

DeFi Yield lets eligible Coinbase customers earn yield by lending their crypto to third-party DeFi protocols. When you opt in to earn DeFi yield, your crypto is deposited into Compound Finance which is an industry-leading DeFi protocol. Then you let your crypto work and earn yield. The offered APY varies based on the rates from Compound and market conditions.

Staking lets you earn rewards by helping secure a  network, while DeFi yield is the process of lending your crypto to a third-party DeFi protocol to earn yield. Both can be complicated to do on your own so we’ve made it easier by handling the complex details for you. You can access staking and DeFi yield right from your Coinbase app. Either opt-in or enroll in just a few clicks.

Eligible customers can earn rewards on any eligible assets they hold on Coinbase, regardless of where they purchase it. You can send assets from an external wallet to your Coinbase account with no Coinbase fees by following these instructions. You can also turn off staking at any time by going to your settings page.

We take a commission on all rewards received, and the rewards rate for our customers reflects this commission. You can find our current commission fee in our user agreement.