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Fantom is one of the most popular layer-one blockchains. It boasts more than $1.2 billion in TVL and is in the top 10 blockchains by total value locked. Even after the departure of Andre Cronje, one of the most prolific developers in DeFi and a member of the Fantom Foundation, Fantom remains one of the major alternative L1 blockchains, and has been dubbed an “Ethereum killer,” alongside other chains like Solana, Avalanche and more.

According to technical analysis, FTM has some way to go until it reclaims bullish territory. Therefore, if you are bullish on Fantom and own some FTM, it is now more important than ever to stake FTM to earn passive income on your crypto. This guide explains how to do that.

While this article won’t dive into the mechanics of Fantom, check out our comprehensive guide on what Fantom is, and an overview of the Fantom ecosystem for a refresh.

What Is Fantom Staking?

Fantom staking is the process of securing the Fantom blockchain via locking up FTM tokens. This is done by validators who validate transactions with their staked tokens acting as an economic incentive to act according to the rules of the protocol. Validator nodes lock up at least half a million FTM tokens to prevent sybil attacks on its consensus mechanism.

The Fantom consensus mechanism is a bespoke version of proof-of-stake — it uses an independent consensus layer called Lachesis. It uses an asynchronous Byzantine Fault Tolerance (aBFT) consensus engine using a directed acyclic graph (DAG) algorithm that provides security for Fantom's second layer, called Opera. Opera is an application development layer hosting DeFi and other decentralized applications (DApps).

You can learn more about the Fantom blockchain in our video:

How To Stake FTM

To stake on Fantom, follows these easy steps:

Have a minimum of 1 FTM.
Go to the Fantom staking page and click Stake.
Log in with a compatible wallet, like MetaMask.
Click on Staking
Add a delegation by choosing a validator and an amount.
Select your lock-up period and confirm.

The minimum lock-up period for staking is zero days and earns the base reward rate. The maximum lock-up period is 365 days and earns the maximum reward rate. Fantom has an unbonding time of seven days. You also pay a delegation fee of 15% to validators.

More information can be found on the Fantom staking page.

Is it Safe To Stake FTM?

Yes, because the validator node does not have access to your staked tokens. However, your stake can be slashed, meaning you can lose a fraction of your stake if the validator is not reputable and misbehaves. Reputable Fantom validators have active communities, websites and Twitter accounts.

In any case, you can withdraw your stake before the lock-up period ends, but you have to pay a penalty to do so

What Are Good Fantom Wallets?

The Fantom Opera layer is an EVM-compatible blockchain. Thus, you can use any wallet that works for Ethereum, such as:

How To Run a Fantom Validator Node

The minimum stake to run a Fantom validator node is 500,000 FTM. According to Fantom, running a node involves a five-step process.

Step 1: Launch cloud instance, where you run a node on your own hardware or on a cloud provider.

Step 2: Set up a non-root user. This is a technical step where you have to adjust a few technical settings.

Step 3: Install the required tools.

Step 4: Register a validator by creating a validator wallet.

Step 5: Run the validator node.

The validator reward consists of the normal APY on the staked amount and the delegator reward of 15%. The APY varies based on the percentage of the entire FTM supply staked.

How Much Can You Earn From Staking FTM?

The minimum amount you can earn is 5.01% if you choose the minimum lock-up period (14 days) and the minimum amount. The maximum APY is currently 15.31% for the maximum lock-up period of 365 days.

You can check the Fantom staking rewards with the FTM staking rewards calculator.

How To Stake Other Tokens on Fantom

Fantom has a vibrant DeFi ecosystem that allows the staking of many different DeFi tokens to earn a yield on your investment. Below are some of the most lucrative Fantom protocols with staking.

Spookyswap

SpookySwap is a DEX running on its native BOO token. Users can choose from several DeFi elements like token swaps, yield farming and others. BOO can be staked in single-staking pools, or it can be bonded with FTM to provide liquidity and yield farm.

Beethoven X

Beethoven is an AMM with products like weighted investment pools, stable pools and token swaps. Its BEETS token yields an APR of 31%.

QiDao

QiDao is a zero-interest crypto lending protocol where users can mint stablecoins against provided collateral. Qi offers a variable APR depending on the lock-up period, which can be up to four years.

Scream

Scream is a decentralized lending protocol that works similar to protocols like Compound, Cream and Aave. Users that stake SCREAM tokens can earn around 58% APR. For liquidity providers the rewards are as high as 82% APR.

Geist Finance

Geist is a decentralized non-custodial liquidity market protocol. It has a generous 50% redistribution of protocol revenue to GEIST stakers. The current APR on Geist Finance is around 118%.

Tarot

Tarot is also a liquidity market protocol that works similar to Geist Finance and Scream. Liquidity providers can earn yield by locking their TAROT tokens in vaults. You can also stake TAROT for xTAROT and earn 21% APR.

Conclusion

Staking on Fantom is an excellent way to earn a yield on your FTM tokens. The APY on Fantom is bigger compared to some of its L1 rivals, so Fantom believers should absolutely stake their bags. While the APY is definitely appealing, there are risks involved in staking — FTM and most ecosystem tokens have suffered drawdowns of over 90% during this bear market. Staking and locking your tokens up may make your funds illiquid and difficult to exit a position. To learn more about Fantom, read the CoinMarketCap guide to the Fantom ecosystem.

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How To Stake Fantom

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