Cardano Staking: Ultimate Guide on Earning ADA

Staking is a popular feature in the DeFi industry that enables token holders to “stake” - or lock - their tokens in a network as a way to actively participate in data verification on the blockchain. As a reward for this, token holders receive interest on their staked crypto, much like one receives interest on a traditional bank savings account balance. 

Cardano staking is one of the more user-friendly options out there due to its unique delegation process. We did a deep dive on how to stake Cardano so you know a few different ways to earn a passive income.  

How does Cardano staking work?

In Cardano, ADA holders entrust people called “stake pool operators” to manage the staking process. A stake pool is essentially when many people place their tokens in the pool together, allowing the stake pool to operate to generate more interest and delegate rewards to the token holders. 

To become a stake pool operator, you must have the appropriate hardware and advanced Cardano knowledge. As for the token holders, they have absolute freedom when it comes to choosing a stake pool operator. Staking pool rewards vary and token holders can look at pool reviews, performance, and size before selecting one. 

Suggested reading: Staking Crypto - What it Means and How it Works

Once you find a pool that fits your staking needs, you can lock your ADA in the pool and begin a process called “delegation.” During this process, you can stake and un-stake your ADA as many times as you want and even switch pools whenever you want between epochs.

An epoch is how Cardano tells time. Each epoch has 432,000 one-second intervals. On average, each epoch typically lasts for around five days. Cardano then takes a snapshot at the end of each epoch. 

The snapshot then records the distribution of ADA to staking pool participants. Hence, when you receive a reward, that is the reward from staking during previous epochs. So it will take some time before you see your first rewards. All staking rewards are paid in ADA and not fiat. 

Is Cardano worth staking?

Before we dive into Cardano staking on different platforms, surely you want to know first “is Cardano work staking?” As with any financial service, that all depends on your personal goals. Hence, we put together a pros and cons list of Cardano staking here for you so you can analyze, plan and take action if needed. 

Pros of staking ADA

• Earn a passive income
• Generate yields that are higher than traditional investments
• More income in staking than crypto mining
• Cheaper than crypto mining
• Less technical knowledge is required than crypto mining
• You’re helping to secure the Cardano network
• You’re part of a community
• Less energy consumption than mining
• Freedom to choose a staking pool
• Voting rights allowed if staking on Daedalus
• No limits to how much you can stake (depending on the platform)

Cons of staking ADA

• More risk than basic “HODLing” techniques in a wallet
• You are responsible for your private key
• Must lock your funds in a staking pool or platform
• Exposure to corrupt stake pool operators who can take your rewards
• ADA volatility is unpredictable
• ADA loss in price can exceed income from staking (depending on the market)

If you’re interested in learning how to stake Cardano, then you first must weigh the pros and cons of the process to see if it’s a good match for you. If so, then please continue reading.

Suggested reading: Cardano Price Prediction: ADA Price Prediction in 2025

How to stake Cardano?

There are plenty of platforms offering yield for Cardano (ADA) deposits - YouHodler being one of them. More on that later. However, “staking” Cardano in the traditional sense comes in just two forms:

1. Daedalus - An open-source wallet built specifically for ADA by Cardano developers. 
2. Yoroi - a light “day-to-day” wallet for ADA holders.

Daedalus is typically reserved for intermediate to advanced level users as it requires you to download the entire Cardano blockchain on your computer and operate a private node. Yoroi on the other hand is a user-friendly app that you can download straight to your web browser, much like MetaMask for Ethereum. 

Both options allow you to stake ADA by joining a staking pool. Whether you go with Daedalus or Yoroi, the process is pretty straightforward. You just need to research the collection of staking pools, ensuring you find one that meets your needs and has a good reputation. Then, follow the on-screen instructions to delegate your ADA to the pool and begin the staking process. 

What is the best staking platform for Cardano?

Well, as we suggested above, Daedalus and Yoroi are two popular options for staking ADA but for those that want to discover a more user-friendly approach to yield generation strategies, there are plenty of options to choose from. Take YouHodler for example.

As seen in the Cardano staking calculator above, you can earn 5.50% APR plus compounding interest on ADA. Just one deposit of 1000 ADA will give you a total of 1056.41 ADA after 12 months and that’s with minimal effort. 

To stake Cardano on YouHodler, just follow the following steps:

1. Sign in or create an account at YouHodler.com or via the YouHodler apps (iOS and Android)
2. Verify your account via our simple KYC procedure
3. Deposit ADA to your ADA wallet on YouHodler
4. Start generating yield

As soon as your ADA enters your YouHodler ADA wallet, yield starts generating. The longer you hold, the more you earn. Furthemore, YouHodler has additional great features to help you multiply your ADA beyond basic yield generation strategies. For example,

• ADA-backed loans
• Universal crypto exchange
• ADA multiplication with Turbocharge
• Long and short ADA with Multi HODL
• Use ADA in Dual Currency Investment with “Dual Asset”

The last one, Dual Assets, is YouHodler’s newest feature that combines the high-yield generation strategies of DeFi with the easy-to-use interfaces of FinTech. On Dual Asset, you can “stake” ADA for a period of 12 hours to 2 days and generate a yield as high as 230%.

Dual Asset is similar to Multi HODL in that you can choose the direction of a coin and your payment amount depends on the outcome of your guess. However, with Dual, your yield generation is guaranteed. The only difference is the amount of profit you take in. 

Want to learn more about the Dual Asset feature? Just click here for the full introduction.

YouHodler is more than a crypto wallet for storage. Deposit ADA today to start generating yield and discovering more creative ways to activate your cryptocurrency.