Staking lets you earn crypto rewards while supporting blockchain security. You retain full ownership of your crypto and can unstake at any time, either instantly for a fee or for free by waiting the network’s standard unstaking period. You can also request to convert a pending standard unstake to an instant unstake for a fee. Instant unstaking may not always be available and may be subject to limitations.
AVAX uses a Proof of Stake “consensus mechanism”, ensuring all transactions are verified and secure, without intermediaries.
Similar to staking other assets on Coinbase, you may stake and unstake your AVAX tokens at your convenience. Coinbase implements a 2-week staking period for AVAX. At the end of each staking period, your staked tokens will be restaked unless you choose otherwise.
Your first reward payout can be expected within 16-20 days and every subsequent payout every 4 days.
Unstaking AVAX
Once staked, AVAX has a 9-day waiting period during which you continue earning rewards, but you can unstake instantly for a fee (refer to the asset table in Earn rewards by staking for details). Pending standard unstakes can be converted to an instant unstake for a fee. The current fee for instant unstaking is disclosed at the time you request to unstake. After this, your AVAX tokens can be transferred or sold.
Unlike other staked assets like ETH, AVAX doesn't have a protocol-level unstaking period. Instead, it has a minimum staking period ranging from two weeks to one year. On Coinbase, AVAX staking period is always 2 weeks.
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