Cardano (ADA) staking guide on Coinbase Prime

Ability to stake when using the following entity:

• Coinbase Custody Trust Company, LLC: Yes

• Coinbase Custody International, Ltd.: Yes

• Coinbase Germany GmBH: Yes

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

  • Coinbase Developer Platform public validator: Yes

  • Coinbase Developer Platform dedicated validator: Contact your Sales or Account Manager

• 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. 1 ADA will be reimbursed for gas fees.

• 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: 15-20 day delay effect of receiving reward. Unstaking is effective immediately.

• Delegator reward compound: Rewards compound but will not sit in the cold wallet. Pending rewards are not part of the 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 each wallet is labeled to differentiate between the two. Learn more about Cardano address types here.

*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:  2 Epochs (10 days)

• Bonding/unbonding period: None

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 change validator without unbonding and restaking: Staked ADA is liquid and can be withdrawn without unbonding or unstaking.

• 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

• Ability to stake to multiple validator addresses: No

Fees charged when using the following validator types:

• Coinbase Custody public validator: N/A

• Coinbase Developer Platform public validator: 5%

• Coinbase Developer Platform 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.  

• Coinbase Developer Platform has multiple validators.

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

  • Email notifications will be shared if a public validator is undersaturated

• 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.

  • Email notifications will be shared if a public validator is oversaturated

• When staking with the Coinbase Developer Platform, a suitable validator will be selected for you based on the capacity and saturation levels. If at any point the Coinbase Developer Platform validator you are staked with falls above or below the ideal saturation level, you should:

  • Change validators by simply clicking on the Ellipses icon far right next to the wallet, and selecting Change Validators.

    • This action creates a change-validator transaction, and will be subject to your accounts consensus settings.

    • A new validator will be automatically selected once the Change Validators transaction have been completed.