Earn Crypto With Ledger Live: Staking Made Easy

Did you know you can earn crypto without lifting a finger? Well, you can, and you can even do it from within the security of the Ledger Ecosystem. With Ledger Live, you can earn crypto rewards by staking multiple coins with various different methods. Whether you have a lot or little to spare, there’s always an option to earn a passive income on your crypto coins. 

All of these rewards are thanks to the underlying workings of many blockchains today. To explain, decentralized blockchains using a proof-of-stake mechanism have a novel way to ensure participants that approve transactions behave honorably. Essentially, these participants, called validators, must lock up cryptocurrencies to act as their collateral. If they misbehave, they lose those funds via a mechanism known as “slashing”. More often than not though, validators approve transactions appropriately, and in return for their work, they receive a cryptocurrency reward. 

The best thing is: public blockchains allow anyone to become a validator, meaning even you can start staking crypto and earning rewards. And in fact, you don’t even need to become a validator to earn crypto via the Ledger ecosystem either. 

So how does that work exactly?

How Do I Earn Crypto Rewards?

As mentioned, earning rewards involves staking your cryptocurrency. That means, typically, you will have to lock up a specific amount of currency that will remain out of use while you validate transactions and earn rewards. 

But, there’s a bit more to it:

Firstly, there are multiple different networks you can choose to stake on. Each network offers a different reward for its validators, which will affect the profit you stand to make.

Furthermore, the native coin of the network is important to consider. If a coin is especially volatile, you may be putting yourself at risk when locking it up. By the time you unstake your funds, they may not be worth as much as you’d hoped—even with the rewards on top. To combat this issue of liquidity, there are now innovative staking methods including liquid staking—wherein you receive usable tokens in return for your stake. 

But that’s not the only way to stake cryptocurrencies and earn rewards. And locked-up liquidity isn’t the only aspect of staking you should take into account either. To learn more about all of the different methods of staking and how they work, check out the full article on crypto staking. 

But if you’re ready to earn right away; look no further. Ledger Live has multiple options available that let you start earning cryptocurrencies right away.

Staking Crypto: Your Options in Ledger Live

Staking in Ledger Live is easy and secure. Whether you’re a crypto native or just a beginner, staking through the ledger ecosystem can save you a world of pain. In short, Ledger Live offers a secure gateway to multiple staking providers, each with their own flavor of staking. That means it doesn’t matter if you have a lot or just a little to stake. There’s always an option for you.

Solo Staking

If you have a significant amount of cryptocurrency you are willing to stake in order to secure specific networks that use this method, you can opt for solo staking. Using a validator-as-a-service tool like Kiln’s, you can stake the full amount it takes to become a validator: 32ETH on the Ethereum Network. With this method you don’t need to run the validator node yourself. Instead, the service will do it for you. And of course, by staking the full amount to run a validator, you also get to keep a more significant portion of the rewards. To learn more, make sure you check out the support docs on how to stake ETH with Kiln.

However, it’s important to note this method will require you to stake multiples of 32 ETH, which not everyone has lying around. So, if you have a bit less to stake, Ledger Live also has several other options.

Funding a Validator

The next option you have to earn rewards from the comfort of your own home, includes funding a validator. To explain, with this method, you essentially give your funds to a validator. The validator handles all of the technical aspects of validating transactions; they own the specialized computer and they use it to run the client (the blockchain’s software). However, you provide the collateral that allows the validator to process and validate transactions. Thus, you earn a significant portion of the rewards.

Through Ledger Live you can fund a validator and earn rewards for both the Solana and Atom networks. Plus, neither of these networks have a significant minimum stake, meaning you can earn crypto, such as ATOM or SOL, without a huge initial investment. To get started, all you have to do is navigate to Ledger Live and fund a validator via Ledger or Figment. Then just watch the rewards roll in!

Pooled and Liquid Staking

The Ledger ecosystem also offers pooled staking opportunities. To explain, instead of funding a validator you can also participate in staking pools. Essentially, when you stake your cryptocurrency in a pool, the pool’s operator uses your funds—along with everyone else’s—to participate in native staking on a specific blockchain. As a result, the pool operator receives the rewards, and then they distribute them to all of the pool’s contributors. In other words, you lock your funds in the pool, the operator takes care of the technical part, and you receive the rewards. 

You can access ETH pooled staking in Ledger Live via Kiln. Kiln’s staking platform is well audited, plus, using it through Ledger Live guarantees you’re interacting with the official platform. Not only that, your rewards will arrive directly into your Ledger hardware wallet—meaning it’s seamless and secure. 

Then, if you want a little more flexibility while you earn, you also have the option of Liquid staking. To explain, liquid staking is the same as pooled staking, apart from the pool operator also issuing participants Liquid staking tokens (LSTs). These tokens are pegged to the value of the initial asset you staked. This means that instead of keeping your staked tokens locked-up, you can use them in DeFi platforms and blockchain apps. And these types of tokens automatically deposit rewards into the holder’s account without the need for a centralized body to work out or distribute rewards.

Through the ledger ecosystem, you can start earning crypto this way via staking providers Lido and Stader. Plus, you can also manage your Liquid staking tokens, such as stETH, directly within Ledger Live–just as you would with any other ERC-20 token. For more information on liquid staking in Lido, make sure to check out the support documentation here.

Why Earn Crypto via Ledger Live

To take full advantage of the crypto staking ecosystem, you might want to consider trying multiple methods of staking on different networks and platforms. And in fact, this is good practice, as diversifying your assets can help protect against volatility. However, it’s not as easy as it sounds. 

Moving from one platform to another can be challenging: You have to remember the login details for multiple platforms with multiple logins. Then, once you have all of those credentials somewhere safe, and yet also accessible, it’s not the only issue. Blind signing is also a risk anytime you sign a transaction with your wallet. And staking crypto involves signing transactions with your crypto wallet—What if you end up signing a transaction for a fake staking platform and it drains your funds?

Staking in Ledger Live solves all of these problems. In short, staking in Ledger Live offers an easy, secure way to access different staking platforms, and a dashboard to track all of your staking positions. Not only that, earning crypto via the Ledger ecosystem is also extremely secure and allows you to retain custody over your assets and rewards. So let’s see how that works:

Earn Dashboard

The Earn dashboard is a single place to track and manage all of your cryptocurrency staking rewards. Put simply, the earn dashboard will provide you with all of the important information on your staking positions, including those of any validators you fund for a range of networks and coins including;        Ethereum (ETH), Ethereum Lido Staking (stETH), Solana (SOL), Cosmos (ATOM), Tezos (XTZ), and Near (NEAR).

However, that’s not all, the earn dashboard will also add support for many other networks in the months and years ahead—with Cardano (ADA) launching soon. This makes earning cryptocurrency easy and accessible for everyone. Put simply, there’s only one place you need to watch to track your staking positions—even if you’re participating in several different types of staking across multiple different networks. In short, the earn dashboard is the ultimate tool to help you stake crypto easily—no matter how experienced you are.

A Secure Gateway

Using Ledger Live to earn crypto also gives you the added benefit of a guaranteed secure gateway. To explain, navigating the internet to find a staking platform can put you at risk. Accidentally exploring a phishing site is all too easy when it comes to staking platforms. Then, once you connect your wallet, you can say goodbye to your funds. 

To combat this, Ledger Live offers a secure gateway to all of its apps; including staking providers. By accessing a staking platform via Ledger Live’s earn section, you can rest assured that you’re visiting the official platform. Not only that, you’re accessing the platform with added security—Ledger Live applications all benefit from clear signing plugins, meaning you can verify transaction details on the trusted display of your Ledger device before providing a physical confirmation.  This stops you from blind signing your assets away–one of the biggest dangers in crypto today.

Self Custody: True Ownership

Finally, staking through Ledger Live also allows you custody over your assets. To explain, many staking platforms don’t allow you to truly own your digital assets. Instead, these types of platforms use custodial wallets, meaning you’re putting your own funds in a wallet you do not fully control. This can pose a huge risk: If the staking platform closes down, the likelihood is your funds will disappear along with it.  Even if the platform continues to run smoothly, you’re trusting the decisions of a minimal number of people that control that platform. 

Staking with Ledger Live is more decentralized, meaning there is no centralized entity in charge of operating the service. Instead you delegate your funds to individual node operators. Plus, if you stake via Ledger Live, you can keep full custody of your assets and the rewards you earn are deposited directly into the account protected by your hardware wallet. Only you own the private keys that control that account, meaning only you have true ownership of your assets and rewards. 

Earning Crypto is Easy When You Stake With Ledger

Whichever staking option you choose, you can be confident that your funds are safe with Ledger. Using Ledger Live, the stresses of phishing attempts, rogue centralized entities and even just complicated UX are a thing of the past. With the simple Earn dashboard, it’s incredibly easy to track and manage your performance while participating in multiple types of staking. With Ledger Live’s secure gateway, plus the inherent security of your Ledger device, there really is no better way to protect your assets and rewards while staking. This is how to earn crypto the smart way: with Ledger protecting you.