Crypto investors have explored various ways to make money from the crypto market. While many enjoy buying, selling, and trading digital assets for quick profits, others opt for long-term commitment through mechanisms like crypto staking. What is crypto staking? How can you benefit from it?
Crypto staking is a process in which users earn additional rewards for their cryptocurrencies, which they commit to supporting a blockchain network that uses the proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. Participating in the staking process entails users locking up their digital assets in a protocol over a specific or flexible duration. Staking helps secure the network’s overall security and facilitates the validation of transactions.
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As profitable as crypto staking can be, finding a safe platform that supports the staking feature in certain parts of the world is grueling. If you live in the United Kingdom, you’re in luck. A crypto-focused platform recently received approval to offer crypto staking to customers alongside a lucrative return on investment.
Uphold is a financial platform that enables users to buy, sell, transfer, and hold currencies, precious metals, equities, and other digital assets. Launched in 2013, the company expanded its operation from its headquarters in New York to various countries, including Australia, Canada, and the UK.
On January 31, 2025, the UK authorities enforced a financial act that allowed registered crypto platforms to offer the staking feature to individual and institutional clients. Three days later, Uphold incorporated the functionality into its ecosystem within the country.
Uphold users can earn as much as 14.8% on staked cryptocurrencies. However, the rewards vary based on market conditions, network demand, and on-chain activities. The platform distributes rewards directly to users’ accounts weekly and offers flexible staking, allowing users to unstake their holdings anytime.
The digital asset platform added that it will eventually enable the staking feature in the United States and the European Union.
Prerequisites
Let’s discuss certain things a user must know and have before commencing staking activities on Uphold. They are:
Creating an Uphold account
Registering an account on Uphold is the first step to accessing its services, including crypto staking. Download the Uphold app from the official website for iOS or Android devices. Then, submit your personal details (email, phone number, physical address, and country of residence) to the platform. You’d also need to indicate whether you are running an individual or business account. If opening a business account, you must prove your business is legally registered.
Account verification requirements
After creating the Uphold account, you’d need to verify your credentials. The requirements are a government-approved identity card and a real-time selfie of yourself. Other things the platform requests from users to verify their residence include utility bills, bank statements, credit card statements, tax returns, and a government-issued residence certificate.
For business accounts, owners need to provide proof of identity for themselves and other relevant individuals in the company. Uphold may also request details involving the company’s legal entity name, registration number, registered address, source of funds, business activity, and official website.
Supported cryptocurrencies for staking
As of this writing, Uphold supports the staking of 19 cryptocurrencies. Here are these assets and their reward:
- Aptos (APT): 5.3%
- Avalanche (AVAX): 4.5%
- Axelar (AXL): 5.15%
- Cardano (ADA): 1.96%
- Casper (CSPR): 10%
- Cosmos (ATOM): 13.8%
- Ether (ETH): 3.55%
- Flare (FLR): 4.5%
- Hedera (HBAR): 0.061%
- Injective (INJ): 8%
- Kusama (KSM): 9.8%
- Near Protocol (NEAR): 5.9%
- Oasis Network (ROSE): 1.85%
- Polkadot (DOT): 10.4%
- Polygon Ecosystem Token (POL): 3.1%
- Solana (SOL): 8%
- Songbird (SGB): 5.5%
- Tezos (XTZ): 4.8%
- Zilliqa (ZIL): 6.6%
Step-by-Step Staking Guide
Now that you’ve set up your Uphold account, here’s a detailed guide toward staking your desired cryptocurrency:
Funding your Uphold account
Uphold offers varying funding channels depending on your location, such as debit/credit cards, bank transfers, ACH bank deposits, and wire transfers.
Assuming you want to fund your Uphold account using a bank transfer involving EUR or GBP, here is an easy step-by-step process to execute the trade:
- Click “Deposit” on the home screen.
- Open “Unique account number.”
- Select “To” and choose your preferred currency, EUR or GBP.
- Copy the reference code from the Uphold payment page.
- Proceed to make the transfer on your bank app, and ensure that the reference code is included before completing the deposit.
- You will receive the digital currency on your Uphold account almost instantly.
Navigating to the staking section
After funding your account, the next step is to go to the staking section on the Uphold platform. Here’s how to get there:
- Open “Menu” in the Uphold app.
- Click “Earn.”
Selecting your desired cryptocurrency
The next step is to choose one among the 19 cryptocurrencies that can be staked. When choosing, you can weigh their outlined reward.
Setting up your stake
After choosing your preferred crypto asset, you can set up your stake. Here’s how:
- Click “Tap More.”
- Select the asset/currency you want to use to purchase the crypto asset.
Confirming the transaction
The final step is to vet and execute the transaction. To do that, select the “Preview Staking” option to review your trade. After verifying, hit the “Confirm” option.
Understanding Staking Rewards
APY rates on Uphold
Annual Percentage Yield (APY) refers to the total earnings a user account receives from staking cryptocurrencies in a year. This metric considers the compounded profit the account has gained throughout the year. Uphold has no specific APY rates. Instead, they depend on supply and demand within the specific crypto project’s ecosystem.
Reward distribution schedule
Uphold’s reward distribution schedule involves users seeing an increase in token rewards immediately after the preparation period (when staked assets begin accruing rewards) ends. The platform pays users their rewards every Thursday.
Minimum staking requirements
All 19 crypto assets available for staking on Uphold have varying requirements for the minimum number of tokens staked per transaction. Here’s a list of these tokens and their minimum staking limit:
- Cardano (ADA): 1
- Solana (SOL): 0.1
- Cosmos (ATOM): 0.5
- Tezos (XTZ): 5
- Kusama (KSM): 0.1
- Polkadot (DOT): 1
- Ether (ETH): 0.01
- Polygon (POL): 0.1
- Avalanche (AVAX): 0.1
- Casper (CSPR): 10
- Near Protocol (NEAR): 1
- Oasis Network (ROSE): 3
- Zilliqa (ZIL): 6
- Injective (INJ): 1
- Hedera (HBAR): 5
- Flare (FLR): 1
- Songbird (SGB): 1
- Axelar (AXL): 1
- Aptos (APT): 1
Lock-up periods (if any)
Unlike most crypto projects with a rigid staking lockup period, Uphold adopts a flexible staking period, allowing users to unstake anytime. It is worth noting that each featured cryptocurrency has varying unstaking timeframes. For instance, Polkadot’s DOT has an unstaking period of 28 days.
Managing Your Stake
Monitoring your staking position
After staking your desired crypto assets, you can monitor them via the Portfolio page. This page displays the staked amount and the accrued rewards for all staked cryptocurrencies.
Withdrawing rewards
After staking your crypto assets for a considerable period, you may wish to withdraw some or all of the rewards you’ve earned. To withdraw your rewards, you need to unstake your tokens.
Unstaking process
Here’s the step-by-step process to unstake your crypto assets:
- Select the cryptocurrency you wish to unstake from the “Portfolio” page.
- Click “Unstake.”
- Indicate what you’d like to convert the staked tokens to, whether crypto assets or fiat currencies.
- Click “Preview Staking” to review the trade.
- Confirm the transaction.
Associated fees
Uphold implements a commission between 20% and 25% of the staked rewards, depending on the digital asset being staked. Notably, the platform’s APY rates take the commission into account by default, helping users know precisely how much their reward is.
Sign up and start your staking with UpHold.
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