The act of locking cryptocurrency as a stake to participate in a proof-of-stake network’s validation process, earning rewards and risking penalties for misbehaviour. The staked amount aligns a validator’s incentives with the network’s correct operation.
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- Staking commits a quantity of a network’s native asset to back a validator’s right to propose and attest to blocks under proof of stake. Honest participation earns protocol rewards, while provable misbehaviour can result in slashing of the stake.
- Holders who do not run validators can often delegate their assets to others or pool them, sharing in rewards. The total value staked is a measure of the economic security backing a proof-of-stake chain.