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- Pros and cons of the best crypto staking platforms
- Comparison of the best crypto staking platforms
- Know how to evaluate best crypto staking platforms
On Mudrex’s secure application
Farran Powell,Benjamin Curry
Editor,Editor
Updated: Sep 02, 2024
Editorial Note: This content has been independently collected by the Forbes Advisor team and is offered on a non-advised basis. This content is not part of the comparison service provided by RunPath Regulatory Services. Forbes Advisor may earn a commission on sales made from partner links on this page, but that doesn’t affect our editors’ opinions or evaluations.
Investors love generating passive income, but plenty of market experts claim that cryptocurrency lacks the ability to provide a source of income. That’s not entirely true. Staking (as well as a few rewards programs) can generate interest income from the crypto that you own right now.
You can earn rewards through staking by locking up your crypto to help run the blockchains that support certaincryptocurrencies. If you’re interested in staking or a crypto rewards program, picking the right crypto exchange is essential. This will ensure that you get access to the right resources and the highest yields.
To help you choose the right crypto exchange for staking and rewards, Forbes Advisor India has surveyed the best crypto platforms for staking available in India.
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Mudrex
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BlackBull Markets
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Trade 26,000+ assets with no minimum deposit
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24/7 dedicated support & easy to sign up
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Uphold
Grow Your Passive Income
250+ cryptoassets available
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Just $1 minimum deposit
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Enjoy 0% bank deposit & withdrawal fees*
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- Best Crypto Platforms for Staking Of 2024
- Gemini
- KuCoin
- Coinbase
- Binance.US
- Compare the Best Crypto Staking Platforms
- Cryptocurrency Exchanges Platform That Allow Crypto Coins Staking in India
- Methodology
Best Crypto Platforms for Staking Of 2024
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Gemini
4.6
Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.
Coins available for staking or rewards
40+
Ethereum Staking
No
Coins available for staking or rewards
40+
Ethereum Staking
No
Why We Picked It
Gemini supports more than 40 cryptocurrencies for earning rewards via its Gemini Earn program. While it’s not a staking program per se, Gemini Earn is a lending platform that lets users lend out their crypto holdings in exchange for interest payments.
Like staking on other crypto exchange platforms, users earn an annual percentage yield (APY) for participating with their crypto holdings. For example, at the time of this writing, you can earn 4.55% APY on your Solana holdings.
For those who want a more traditional staking program, Gemini offers staking for the following tokens: Polygon (MATIC) and Ethereum (ETH).
Pros & Cons
- Simple, easy-to-use interface.
- Available in every U.S. state
- You can earn interest on stablecoins like USDC and Pax Gold (PAXG)
- Limited customer service options
- Ethereum and Cardano are not available for staking
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KuCoin
4.5
Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.
Coins available for staking or rewards
50+
Ethereum Staking
Yes
Coins available for staking or rewards
50+
Ethereum Staking
Yes
Why We Picked It
Users can participate and earn a myriad of types of rewards with their cryptocurrency on KuCoin. The interest-bearing rewards range from being accrued from promotions, savings or stakings, which are all a part of KuCoin Earn. The fixed interest available on Ethereum 2.0 is nearly 4.7% annually.
Pros & Cons
- Offers a wide selection of cryptocurrencies eligible to earn interest income.
- You can earn interest by staking popular stablecoins such as Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC).
- KuCoin is not licensed in the U.S.
- Challenging to see the differences between Kucoin Earn’s savings, staking and promotions features.
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Coinbase
4.3
Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.
Coins available for staking or rewards
6
Ethereum Staking
Yes
Coins available for staking or rewards
6
Ethereum Staking
Yes
Why We Picked It
Coinbase only offers a limited number of coins for staking and rewards. But the most popular cryptos for staking are available on the platform. Depending on the selected crypto, a minimum balance may be needed for staking. For example, you must own at least $1 of SOL to stake Solana.
Pros & Cons
- Strong user reviews and security features.
- Allows users to stake Algorand (ALGO), Cosmos (ATOM),
- Ethereum, Tezos (XTM), Cardano and Solana
- Limited selection of coins available for staking or rewards.
- Not available in all 50 states
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Binance.US
4.1
Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.
Coins available for staking or rewards
22
Ethereum Staking
Yes
Coins available for staking or rewards
22
Ethereum Staking
Yes
Why We Picked It
Only a handful of cryptocurrencies are available on Binance.US for staking, and even the most popular altcoin, Ethereum, isn’t an option on this platform for staking or rewards. That said, the process of staking and interest on Binance.US is straightforward and Binance.US users can also earn rewards, interest for staking the exchange’s native coin, Binance Coin (BNB).
Pros & Cons
- Allows staking for Audius (AUDIO), Avalanche (AVAX), Binance Coin (BNB), Cosmos, Livepeer (LPT), Solana, and The Graph (GRT), Ethereum (ETH), Cardano (ADA), and more.
- More cryptocurrencies (600+) and tokens for staking are available on its parent exchange Binance (which is not available in the U.S.)
Note: The above-mentioned platforms KuCoin and Binance.US are banned by the Financial Intelligence Unit due to illegally operating in India and Coinbase is currently inactive in the country.
Compare the Best Crypto Staking Platforms
| Company | Company – Logo | Forbes Advisor Rating | Forbes Advisor Rating | Coins available for staking or rewards | Ethereum Staking | Learn More CTA text | Learn more CTA below text | LEARN MORE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini |  | 4.6 |  | 40+ | No | View More | ||
| KuCoin |  | 4.5 | | 50+ | Yes | View More | ||
| Coinbase |  | 4.3 | | 6 | Yes | View More | ||
| Binance.US |  | 4.1 |  | 22 | Yes | View More |
Cryptocurrency Exchanges Platform That Allow Crypto Coins Staking in India
CoinDCX
Staking cryptocurrency on CoinDCX is a beneficial situation for users. Users earn passive income on their idle-lying cryptocurrencies. It gives all the users complete flexibility and liquidity which means that they can withdraw their cryptocurrencies or can trade them anytime. There is no lock-up period on CoinDCX.
Trading and staking are completely different concepts. While the funds are stored along with eligible for staking in their wallets. Trading or withdrawal of those funds in between the staking period will not lead to any untimely withdrawal penalties. CoinDCX takes snapshots of your staked wallet and users will receive rewards for the cryptocurrency amount mentioned in the snapshot.
WazirX
WazirX lets its users stake cryptocurrencies with no fees. This will let users earn and enjoy their rewards. All they need to do is hold the supported staking token on this platform. WazirX will handle all the technical requirements and they distribute the rewards within the initial 15 days of every month.
Users’ staking tokens will not be locked on WazirX and they will always be able to trade tokens at any time. However, once the trade is executed, the staked balance amount will change and the corresponding rewards that users will earn from daily snapshots will accordingly change.
Zebpay
To participate in staking, one must either be a full validator or contribute to a staking pool. The convenient option is to contribute to staking pools. By using this route, small users too can earn rewards from cryptocurrency staking without the need to own validations.
Users just need to purchase a token using Zebpay to stake cryptocurrencies. During the staking period, your tokens cannot be transferred. Research the lock-in requirements before you decide to stake tokens.
Mudrex
The earn feature on Mudrex supports passive earning on cryptocurrencies. This feature allows users to earn up to 10% passive income rewards on their crypto holdings with no lock-in period.
Your assets are also safeguarded with industry-leading security protocols, ensuring safety while earning.
Featured Partners
1
Mudrex
Legacy
Over 2 Million Investors Trust Mudrex for Their Crypto Investments
Security
Mudrex is Indian Govt. recognized platform with 100% insured deposits stored in encrypted wallets
Fees
Enjoy zero crypto deposit fees and industry’s best fee rates.
On Mudrex’s secure application
2
BlackBull Markets
Multiple Award-Winning Broker
Listed On Deloitte Fast 50 index, 2022 Best Global FX Broker – ForexExpo Dubai October 2022 & more
Best-In-Class for Offering of Investments
Trade 26,000+ assets with no minimum deposit
Customer Support
24/7 dedicated support & easy to sign up
On BlackBull Market’s secure website
3
Uphold
Grow Your Passive Income
250+ cryptoassets available
Why Uphold
Just $1 minimum deposit
Fees
Enjoy 0% bank deposit & withdrawal fees*
On Uphold’s Website
Please invest carefully, your capital is at risk
Methodology
We performed an in-depth assessment of the features and options offered by nearly 25 cryptocurrency exchanges, crypto trading apps and brokerage platforms that offer crypto trading options. To identify the best exchanges for staking, we looked at eight key variables to assess each platform:
- Basic Trading Features. Key metrics included the number of cryptocurrencies available to trade, the number of fiat currencies accepted, the exchange’s overall liquidity and trading fees.
- Advanced Trading Features. We looked at the availability of complex trading features like advanced order types and volume discounts for frequent trading.
- Platform Availability. While some of the best crypto exchanges are available everywhere, others have widely varying degrees of accessibility to different features by country.
- Customer Service. Available types of customer support.
- Educational Resources. We evaluated the educational content offered by each platform.
- Crypto Rewards Credit Card. A few platforms offer crypto rewards credit cards.
- Security and Storage. Types of storage options, security and insurance available, plus an assessment of any large-scale hacks of each exchange over its lifetime.
- Staking and Rewards. Some platforms allow users to stake selected cryptos and earn interest payments.
These eight variables helped us benchmark the staking and crypto interest features, among others, of the crypto exchanges and brokerages we surveyed. The sum of weighted values across all or some of these key factors was calculated for each ranking to award each brokerage or exchange its overall rank.
Forbes Advisor adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. To the best of our knowledge, all content is accurate as of the date posted, though offers contained herein may no longer be available. The opinions expressed are the author’s alone and have not been provided, approved, or otherwise endorsed by our partners.
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What is staking?
Staking is a unique feature allowed with some cryptocurrencies. When users stake their cryptocurrency, they lock a set amount of their crypto funds for a certain period to help maintain operations on a particular proof-of-stake blockchain system.
A proof-of-stake mechanism is a method for some cryptos to verify transactions and consensus on their blockchain networks. With this method, users are given an incentive of rewards when they stake their coins.
What cryptos can I stake?
According to Staking Rewards, more than $132 billion are locked up in supporting proof of stake. The cryptocurrencies with the highest staking market cap include ETH, SOL and ADA, in which the typical annual yield is around 4% to 5%.
While there are many cryptos available that are yield-bearing, the most common cryptocurrencies that traders stake for passive income are:
- Algorand
- Ethereum 2.0
- Chainlink (LINK)
- Polkadot (DOT)
- Cardano
Note rewards on the Ethereum network are typically locked up until the Ethereum 2.0 network is complete. Also of note, more than 10% of Ethereum is staked. Depending on the platform, traders can also stake stablecoins like USD Coin, Dai (DAI) and Tether.
How does staking work?
There are a vast number of cryptocurrencies and crypto exchanges that allow staking, and even some crypto wallets support crypto staking, too.
While Forbes Advisors India ranked Gemini, KuCoin, Kraken, Coinbase and Binance.US as the Best Crypto Exchanges for Staking and Rewards, other crypto exchanges offer staking and rewards for crypto holdings. BuyUcoin and Unocoin are a few examples.
Is staking risky?
Staking requires a “vesting,” or lock-up, period, where users can transfer or use their tokens. Users need to research the crypto they’re staking since they will not be able to conduct transactions with their token(s) for some time.
Cryptocurrency exchanges typically require a minimum lock-up period when you stake your crypto. And if a particular crypto is volatile, your tokens might be locked up (for staking), leaving you unable to sell.
Are my staking rewards taxable income?
If investors stake cryptocurrency, they may have to pay taxes on their earnings. The amount earned from staking depends on the Annual Percentage Rate that is offered by the validator. For example, if investors stake 100 coins with a 10% APR, they will earn 10% interest per year.
You will be taxed at 30% on the income earned from staking. Added to it, when you sell your cryptocurrency asset, you will be liable to pay a 30% capital gains tax.
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