How to stake Fantom (FTM)?

Fantom (FTM) is known for its speed and inexpensive layer-1 blockchain. Like other blockchains (for example, Solana (SOL) and Avalanche (AVAX)) that scale better than their counterpart, it has been dubbed an “Ethereum killer.” After raising $40 million in funds, Fantom launched its mainnet in December 2019. Since then, it has grown to become one of the most popular blockchains, sitting in the top 10 blockchains by total value locked (TVL) with $1.3 billion in TVL. 

Fantom’s high-throughput blockchain is an open-source smart contract platform. It is scalable and EVM-compatible, meaning you can deploy and run your Ethereum decentralized applications (DApps) on Fantom. Its structure enables the support for its decentralized finance (DeFi), other than managing digital assets and DApps.

The Fantom consensus mechanism is an adapted version of proof-of-stake, and it’s called Lachesis. It’s been designed to provide high-speed transactions, low fees and almost instant finality due to the aBFT algorithm. aBFT can scale to many nodes worldwide in a permissionless, open-source environment, offering a good level of decentralization.

The Fantom blockchain is powered by its native FTM token, and if you believe in the project and want to grow your FTM stack, you can consider staking Fantom to earn passive income.

What is Fantom staking?

Staking is making a blockchain more secure by locking up an investor’s digital assets for a certain amount of time. This security is provided by validators who validate transactions with their staked tokens, which becomes an economic incentive for them to behave according to the protocol’s rules.

By staking FTM, investors actively participate in securing its network while earning passive income, i.e., FTM rewards. Staking means that tokens will have to be locked up for some time; however, they will still be sitting in the owners’ wallets, only they can access and unlock their funds anytime.

How to stake FTM

The minimum stake amount to run a validator is 500,000 FTM to prevent Sybil attacks on its consensus mechanism. Sybil attacks are malicious attacks that involve falsifying multiple identities to gain an undue advantage within a network. As the validator’s required amount is relatively high, it becomes easier to delegate FTM to a validator.

 A few Fantom staking strategies can be used:

1. Fluid staking: Investors can lock up their FTM token from two weeks to 365 days for better returns. The reward varies according to the length of the staking period; the longer FTMs are staked, the higher the reward rate. 
2. Liquid staking: Investors can mint sFTM for improved ROI when liquid staking. They can also stake farmed tokens, participate in liquidity mining, farm LP rewards and more.
3. Custodial staking: Investors can take FTM on a centralized exchange (CEX) like Binance or Coinbase. The staking reward is 1%.

To stake on Fantom, users can follow these simple steps:

1. Have a minimum of 1 FTM to stake;
2. Go to the Fantom staking page and click Stake your FTM;
   
3. You can log in with a compatible wallet, like MetaMask. You can open the wallet from your computer or your mobile device. You can create a new wallet or access an existing one using a mnemonic or seed phrase.
4. Deposit your FTM by transferring them from an exchange or another wallet to your Fantom Opera wallet address.
5. Click on “Staking.”
6. Add a delegation by choosing a validator and an amount. 
7. Select your lock-up period and confirm.

There are a few options when it comes to optimal Fantom wallets. The Fantom Opera network is a second-layer and EVM-compatible blockchain, meaning that you can use any wallet that works for Ethereum, such as MetaMask, the Coinbase Wallet or a cold wallet like Ledger. 

After creating an account on Fantom, you can also download your Fantom wallet (fwallet) by clicking on the “Create Wallet” button:

Where to stake FTM?

Other than its native blockchain network, Fantom can be staked across many platforms, including decentralized exchanges (DEX) and custodial blockchains. Here we’ll look at the places to stake Fantom so you can decide which is the most suitable.

How to stake Fantom on Ledger

Staking through a hardware wallet like Ledger works through a smart contract interaction, like other transactions. It’s sufficient to stake from the Fantom fWallet by signing Fantom FTM Ledger Nano S application. Then, use the “Stake” menu item on your account.

How to stake Fantom on Coinbase

In September 2021, Fantom announced support for the Fantom network on the Coinbase Wallet. Coinbase Wallet users can access and use the Fantom network and engage with Fantom DApps. Users can connect their Coinbase Wallet account to their Fantom fWallet and conduct activities such as stake FTM and earn rewards.

How to stake Fantom on Binance

To stake FTM on Binance, you have to deposit a convenient amount on the exchange, then go to Binance Earn and pick the suitable product for you; usually, it’s a locked up period of 30, 60, or 120 days. You…