Staking locks TON tokens in a wallet to help secure the Proof‑of‑Stake (PoS) network and earn rewards. Participants receive native TON as compensation for maintaining the blockchain.
How staking works#
In PoS blockchains, the chance of being selected to validate the next block is proportional to the amount of native token staked. Larger stakes increase the probability of selection, while the staked funds act as collateral that can be partially or fully slashed for misbehavior.
Staking does not require specialized mining hardware. Users can stake directly as validators, delegate through nominator pools, or use liquid‑staking protocols that issue tokenized certificates (e.g., tsTON, stTON, hTON) usable in DeFi applications.
Staking pools
Multiple token holders can combine their stakes in a staking pool. The pool’s total stake raises the chance of block validation, and rewards are distributed proportionally to each participant’s contribution.
Cold staking
Cold staking uses a cold wallet (offline storage) to keep the private key isolated from the internet, reducing hacking risk while still earning network rewards.
Rewards#
Reward rates vary by protocol and are expressed as an annual percentage yield (APY). Current APY figures reported by the services themselves are:
- Tonstakers: up to 4.53 % APY, minimum 1 TON
- Bemo: up to 5.24 % APY, no minimum
- Hipo: up to 5.12 % APY, minimum 1 TON
- Stakee: up to 5 % APY, minimum 1 TON
- TON Whales: up to 5.12 % APY, minimum 50 TON
Reward size can be influenced by staking duration, individual stake amount, and the total amount of TON locked in the network.
Risks#
Staking carries several risks:
- Lock‑up periods – funds may be unavailable for withdrawal until the staking term ends.
- Slashing – a portion of the stake can be burned if the validator misbehaves.
- Volatility – the value of TON can decline, turning a positive token‑based APY into a negative fiat return.
- Smart‑contract risk – liquid‑staking protocols rely on code that may contain vulnerabilities.
Staking in TON#
TON supports staking through three main avenues:
- Direct validator – requires a high minimum deposit (≈300,000 TON) and full responsibility for uptime.
- Nominator pools – users delegate TON to official or third‑party pools, lowering the entry threshold to as little as 1 TON.
- Liquid staking – protocols such as Tonstakers, Bemo, Hipo, Stakee, and TON Whales issue tokenized certificates that can be traded or used in DeFi while the underlying TON remains staked.
Protocols and wallets
- Tonstakers – open‑source, official partner of TON Developers
- Bemo – first liquid‑staking protocol on TON
- Stakee – Telegram bot offering instant withdrawals
- Hipo – open‑source protocol with real‑time rewards
- TON Whales – decentralized pool with DAO‑managed fees
Wallet integrations
- Tonkeeper – stakes via Tonstakers / [/wiki/tonkeeper]
- Tonhub – stakes via TON Whales / [/wiki/tonhub] (link not in existing slugs, render as Tonhub)
- MyTonWallet – stakes through the official TON Nominator smart contract / [/wiki/mytonwallet] (link not in existing slugs, render as MyTonWallet)
Exchange staking
- STON.fi – stakes the service token STON for 3–24 months, issuing ARKENSTON SBTs and GEMSTON airdrops
- Bybit – flexible TON staking with ~1.5 % APR; promotional campaigns can raise APR to 60 % with SBT rewards
- OKX – TON staking via Tonstakers with ~4 % APR
- MEXC – launched TON staking on 10 April 2024 with APRs of 5 %, 7.5 % and 10 % for 30, 60 and 120‑day terms