Cardano (ADA) staking guide on Coinbase Prime

• Validator types that you can use to stake asset on Coinbase Prime:

  • Coinbase Custody public validator: No

  • Coinbase Cloud public validator: Yes

  • Coinbase Cloud dedicated validator: Contact your Sales or Account Manager

• Ability to stake to multiple validator addresses: No

• Ability to change validator without unbonding and restaking: Staked ADA is liquid and can be withdrawn without unbonding or unstaking.

• Active set minimum requirement:  No minimum, but reward distribution depends on the amount staked with the validator. The more ADA staked to a validator, the more blocks produced, which can increase the frequency of rewards earned.
  For example, a validator with 1M ADA staked produces a block every 5 days. Whereas, a validator with 5k ADA staked produces a block every 1,000 days.
  Visit https://www.stakingrewards.com/cryptoassets* for current estimated requirements.

• Delegation minimum requirement: 2 ADA. A nominal 2 ADA is moved from your staking wallet and locked on chain. The 2 ADA will be turned to your vault wallet when you unstake. This is a blockchain level requirement and the number varies. Visit https://www.stakingrewards.com/cryptoassets* for current estimated requirements.

• Staking maximum: None (see the section on Validator saturation)

*Third-party website provided for information only. Coinbase hasn't verified and doesn't guarantee the accuracy of information, including minimum requirements, staking maximums, and reward rates, provided on www.stakingrewards.com.

• Estimated rewards rate: ~4% - rewards rates vary. Visit https://www.stakingrewards.com/cryptoassets* for current estimated reward rates.

• Estimated reward payout: 15-day delay effect of receiving reward. Unstaking: continue receiving rewards for around another 15 days (3 epochs), although unstaking is effective immediately. Rewards may not settle in specified account for an additional duration depending on network conditions and batching rewards.

• Delegator reward compound: Rewards compound but will not sit in the cold wallet. Rewards pending are not part of withdrawable balance until claimed (in order to claim, you must unstake).

• Legacy wallets will not be able to stake: A new wallet must be created before staking.

• How to spot the difference between legacy wallet addresses and current wallet addresses that can be staked: New/current addresses start with addr and we plan on putting an icon to differentiate between the two (learn about Cardano address types).

*Third-party website provided for information only. Coinbase hasn't verified and doesn't guarantee the accuracy of information, including minimum requirements, staking maximums, and reward rates, provided on www.stakingrewards.com.

• Warm up period:  None

• Bonding/unbonding period: None

Slashing coverage available when using:

• Coinbase Custody public validator: N/A

• Coinbase Cloud public validator: N/A

• Coinbase Cloud dedicated validator: N/A

Ability to stake when using the following entity:

• Coinbase Custody Trust Company, LLC: Yes

• Coinbase Custody International, Ltd.: Yes

• Coinbase Germany GmBH: Yes

• Ability to unstake assets: Yes. Only ADA principal (not pending rewards) can be withdrawn. If you wish to withdraw pending rewards, you must first unstake so the rewards will go back to the custody wallet, then withdraw the rewards from the custody wallet.

• Can you withdraw part of staked assets (or must you withdraw all): Partial allowed

• Ability to change staking amounts: Yes

• Ability to add new principal funds to a staked wallet: Automatic. Net new principal funds added to a staked wallet are automatically staked.

• Partial amounts allowed to stake: No

Fees charged when using the following validator types:

• Coinbase Custody public validator: N/A

• Coinbase Cloud public validator: 5%

• Coinbase Cloud dedicated validator: N/A

• Consensus requirements: General consensus approvals required for all staking activities

Reward distribution can vary depending on how much ADA is delegated to the validator you use, which Cardano refers to as saturation, and is probabilistic.  

• If a validator is undersaturated, meaning it has under approximately 1-1.5M ADA delegated, it will likely not earn rewards. 

• If a validator is oversaturated, meaning it has over 70M ADA delegated, the validator will not earn rewards on any ADA delegated above that limit. Staking to an oversaturated validator means you will still earn rewards, but the size of the reward could diminish as it is less reward per ADA staked.

• When staking with the Coinbase Cloud, a suitable validator will be selected for you based on the capacity and saturation levels. If at any point the Coinbase Cloud validator you are staked with falls above or below the ideal saturation level, you can opt to change your validator and Coinbase Prime will automatically recommend a suitable option.