The developers of the Polygon Network, formerly known as the Matic Network, came up with a solution for scaling Ethereum and creating an Internet of Blockchains. The ecosystem built on the Polygon platform will be able to speed up the Ethereum network by several times, reduce the cost of transactions and make it safer.
MATIC holders can stake their tokens to receive rewards. This requires Matic and MetaMask web wallets. We invite you to learn how to stake MATIC tokens in a wallet using the MetaMask extension.
If you'd like to learn more about the Polygon Network platform, how it works and what role it plays in the Ethereum ecosystem, read our article:
Polygon Overview: Scaling the Ethereum Blockchain
Preparation phase
In order to stake Matic tokens, you will need:
- Polygon Web Wallet - a friendly web wallet for managing Matic tokens with a simple and intuitive interface. The wallet contains an explorer where users can track transactions and a reward calculator.
- MetaMask extension - one of the most popular online wallets for ETH and ERC-20 tokens. It's easy to install, create, and use. MetaMask recently added support for the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) network. The wallet is supported in Chrome, Firefox, Brave and Edge browsers. You can select the version for your browser in the MetaMask downloads section.
Connecting MetaMask Wallet
To start staking, go to Polygon web wallet. The next step is to connect the MetaMask plugin. Matic wallet offers two more connection methods to choose from, besides MetaMask: WalletConnect and Walletlink. In the guide, we consider how to connect via MetaMask, so select this wallet in the list and click on it.
Enter the password for the wallet (it must be set to protect your data against unauthorized access) and click Unlock.
Select the account where you store MATIC tokens or which you are going to use for staking, and click Next.
Note. The MetaMask wallet allows you to add multiple accounts to manage ETH and ERC-20 tokens. This is convenient, for example, when you need to use accounts for different purposes: staking, exchanges, storage, and more.
Now click Connect.
Important! To connect to the Matic wallet, you need to select the Ethereum Mainnet. Other networks may not work and you will have to transfer your assets to an address on the main network, which includes additional costs in fees.
Finally, you need to sign the request from Polygon wallet to allow it to effect transactions from your MetaMask wallet. Just click Sign.
The wallet is connected.
Delegating MATIC
At this stage, you need to select a validator to whom you will delegate tokens. Validators ensure the security of the network and add transactions to blocks and blocks to the blockchain. Only validators can directly stake crypto assets. Users can delegate tokens by paying a moderate commission to validators.
After connecting MetaMask, you will be taken to the control panel for staking in Matic Wallet, from which you can stake tokens. Click on the button Apps and then select Staking.
Choose your preferred validator. The search bar will help you quickly find the validator you need. Choose reliable and trusted validators like Everstake - a reliable staking provider trusted by the entire blockchain community. Our delegators can safely stake their crypto assets. We use only high-quality servers, thanks to which we manage to achieve almost 100% uptime.
Enter the name of the validator in the search bar and click Delegate. Next to the name of the validator, you will find useful information, for example, how many tokens have been staked, uptime, commission amount, etc.
After selecting a validator, a window with information about it will be displayed. You will see how much commission you need to pay for an ETH transaction. Enter the MATIC amount for staking and click Continue.
Note. All transactions on the Ethereum network are paid only in ETH coins. Check if you have enough ETH cryptocurrency in your wallet to pay for the transactions. If not, fund your wallet so you can stake tokens.
Allow Polygon Wallet to make transactions from your wallet. In the MetaMask extension pop-up window, click Confirm, as shown in the screenshot.
Wait until the transaction is confirmed. This can take several minutes depending on how busy the Ethereum network is.
To complete the transaction, stake MATIC, and start receiving rewards, you need to buy a voucher in Matic Wallet and pay for Gas. Click Buy Voucher.
Specify the Gas limit and price and confirm the transaction again. You can find the current Gas price on the Etherscan website.
Wait for the confirmation of the transaction.
Delegation is complete. Now you will receive rewards, or you can withdraw or reinvest them.
How to stake more?
Go to the Polygon Wallet dashboard then click on My Account.
Here your active delegation will be displayed.
Just select the validator to whom you delegated MATIC from the list, if there are more than one, and click Stake more. Then proceed with the steps as in the instructions above: specify the amount, confirm the transaction, and so on.
How do I withdraw my rewards?
The minimum for withdrawing rewards is 2 MATIC. Only after 2 MATIC are credited, this amount can be withdrawn to the wallet. The same goes for reinvesting rewards. If the amount is less, you will not be able to withdraw the rewards, but unstaking will be available at any time. In this case, rewards will not be credited. To withdraw rewards, select an active validator in the Matic Wallet dashboard and click Withdraw Reward.
Then confirm that you really want to withdraw the tokens to your wallet.
Specify the limit and price of Gas, and then confirm the transaction in the MetaMask Wallet plugin.
If the withdrawal was successful, you will see the following message in Matic Wallet:
If you want to terminate your delegation, click Unbond. Please note that the Matic Network unbond period lasts 80 checkpoints. This period is valid for first delegation and redelegation. It does not apply to rewards if they have not been redelegated.
Now you know how to delegate MATIC tokens, undelegate them and receive rewards in Matic Wallet by connecting the MetaMask wallet. Do not forget to add funds to your wallet using ETH coins so that you have enough to pay for transactions.
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