Coinbase Wallet

Staking ETH in Coinbase Wallet

Coinbase Wallet offers multiple options for earning on your ETH: Ethereum (ETH) staking and access to various liquid staking tokens.

With ETH staking, anyone can lock their ETH to put it to work on the network. This allows you to participate in consensus, validate transactions, and propose blocks, thereby securing the network. Doing this work earns stakers ETH rewards, while failing to follow protocol rules can result in lost ETH due to penalties.

Ethereum staking

What you need to know about staking ETH on Wallet:

ETH staking or liquid staking

• When staking ETH in Wallet, your ETH is deposited into a staking smart contract and staked onchain

• Liquid staking may be a better option if you'd like the flexibility to use your staked tokens in DeFi or swap your position at any time

Staking length

• The longer you stake, the more you can earn

• Most stake long enough to earn back any network (“gas”) fees they paid to stake their ETH originally

The staking process

• ETH is deposited into a staking smart contract and is staked to Coinbase Developer Platform validators that perform work on the Ethereum network to earn rewards. Any amount can be staked, you don't need 32 ETH.*

• You'll receive soulbound tokens in your Wallet that represent your staked position and withdrawal rights. The token is cbwsETH and it can be viewed in your Wallet using a block explorer such as Etherscan. This token is exclusive to Coinbase Wallet and it cannot be traded or sent. They are non-transferable and are only used to represent the ownership of your staked position, including withdrawal rights.

•Your rewards are automatically restaked and your reward balance updates daily around 1:00 pm UTC. 

• To claim ETH rewards, you must enter into two transactions. The first transaction is to request that your ETH be unstaked. After the unstake transaction has been processed, you can enter into another transaction claiming your original principal and associated staking rewards.

• This is different from staking on Coinbase.com.

Fees

• You will have to pay a gas fee, which is a fee paid to the network for processing crypto transactions. 

• ETH rewards obtained through ETH staking in Wallet are subject to a 15% commission, which is subject to change. The estimated APR you will see before staking is net of all commissions.

Tax implications

• We recommend consulting a tax advisor as tax implications vary by jurisdiction.

Risks

• No guarantee of staking rewards: Staking rewards come from the underlying crypto network, not Coinbase or Coinbase Wallet.

• Protocol rules and network conditions can change. Past staking rewards may not be indicative of future staking rewards.


• Protocol Penalties: To ensure validators follow protocol rules, some protocols impose penalties for validators that violate protocol rules. The most serious types of penalties (called “slashing”) can result in loss of principal.

• Slashing events are extremely rare and have never happened to ETH staked through Coinbase or Coinbase Wallet, but they are not impossible, so you should understand the risks before staking your assets.

*There is no 32 ETH minimum because your stake is combined with other Coinbase Wallet users' stake. We use Kiln's smart contracts to help aggregate funds. Learn more about Kiln here.

Staking ETH using Coinbase Wallet

To stake ETH using Coinbase Wallet:

  1. Open your Coinbase Wallet app and navigate to the Ethereum asset detail page. 

  2. Locate the Stake ETH button and follow the prompts to stake your ETH.

Select View Transaction to track the transactions as it can take a few minutes to process. Once it’s complete, you will see your staked balance on the DeFi tab or on the Ethereum asset detail page.

Unstaking ETH using Coinbase Wallet

To unstake:

  1. Navigate to the DeFi tab or the Ethereum asset detail page. 

  2. Select the Unstake button.

  3. Enter the amount you want to unstake and confirm the transaction. It usually takes between 1-4 days for an unstake transaction to process. The timing can vary depending on network conditions. 

  4. Once your unstake transaction has been processed, your ETH will show as “Ready to claim.”  Clicking on the claimable balance will allow you to claim your ETH, which is required to transfer it back to your wallet from the Kiln smart contract. Unstaking and claiming are two separate blockchain transactions that will each require gas fees. 

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