CARDANO is a 3rd generation open-source decentralized blockchain (Bitcoin – 1st gen, Ethereum – 2nd gen). It is the first project in the crypto space to base its development entirely upon scientific and peer-reviewed research. It is constructed of a layer-based structure to allow for a maximum of future flexibility, maintainability, and upgradeability. The settlement layer thereof is the ADA cryptocurrency. With the next upgrade (Alonzo hard fork on August 12, 2021), CARDANO will introduce smart contracts and provide a platform for decentralized applications (DApps).

ADA (₳) is the underlying currency used in the CARDANO blockchain. It can be used as a method of payment, traded on cryptocurrency exchanges, or used as stake in the Proof of Stake process. As with most crypto coins, it is highly advisable to transfer those funds to a secure wallet (e.g. Deadalus, Yoroi) in order to have full control and not risk mismanagement by any third party.

Rewards in the ADA staking process come from two sources.

The first part comes from a pool of not-yet-circulating ADA. The maximum amount of ADA that will ever be in circulation is set by the protocol to be 45 billion ADA. The current circulating supply is about 32.1 billion ADA. This leaves an amount of approximately 12.9 billion ADA coins still to be supplied at a rate that will decrease over time. One part of those newly added coins will go to the participants in the staking process, the other part goes to the CARDANO treasury from which community-voted projects will be funded (Project Catalyst).

The second part of the rewards comes from transaction fees. With the rise of adoption and applications available, it is expected that over time, those transaction fees will make up the main source of the rewards.

Staking is the act of delegating your ADA to a stake pool. You will then have “skin in the game” (your stake) and will be rewarded for strengthening the network whenever your chosen stake pool produces blocks. It can be done via the interface of your Cardano wallet where you confirm to which pool you want to delegate.

Important: Your ADA will never leave your wallet! The process of delegation is only linking your ADA to a respective stake pool. You have full control over your funds at any given time and can proceed as you like (redelegate, make purchases, transfer to exchanges, etc.). However, this is only true if you stake from within a wallet. Staking ADA at an exchange might entail other conditions such as freezing periods or the inability to vote on Cardano’s Project Catalyst funding.

A stake pool is a core node in the network that has the whole transaction history of the blockchain saved, and keeps consensus about all ongoing transactions with the other nodes. Additionally, a stake pool has the ability to participate in creating the cryptographic blocks of the chain when it is elected by the network to do so. The likelihood for a core node to be chosen to produce such blocks is proportional to the amount of stake that has been delegated to it.

Clearly, you would want to delegate your ADA to a pool that gives you the best return on your investment (ROI). A good indication to go by is the ranking a pool achieves in the delegation section of your wallet.
However, there are a few factors that are difficult for the algorithm to predict which you might also want to consider. For instance, the current ranking will only ever be based on past performance. If you do not want to miss out on rewards too often due to the low quality of a pool (no backup power, lost internet connection, low security standards, etc.), you should also consider making an assessment on the long-term reliability. This can be done by having a look at the operator’s provided channels to get a feel for the quality level of the services and equipment offered, by asking individual questions, and finally, can be seen by the amount of pledge (“skin in the game”) the operator has himself.

Naturally, we at Atlas Stake Pool see ourselves as an ideal fit for you. This is why we go the extra length in presenting our operation here to you. We also aim to respond to any of your questions as quickly as possible. And to demonstrate our long-term commitment, we have pledged  ₳500,000.

Yes. Your ADA coins will be as safe as if you hadn’t staked them at all. They will, and should, never leave the wallet controlled by you. Never send your coins to anyone claiming to stake them for you. Staking should ideally only be done via the officially supported wallets Deadalus or Yoroi.

Apart from the obvious exposure to volatile and unpredictable market movements, the biggest “risk” would be choosing a stake pool that didn’t give the best returns, or shuts down all together, leaving you with no additional rewards. But even in this case, your own funds will never be affected since they stay in your personal wallet at all times.

Therefore, the worst case scenario for you would be to have “lost” potential rewards for that specific epoch (one epoch in the CARDANO ecosystem lasts for five days). If you see unsatisfactory behavior, you can change your stake pool at any time, which will take effect as soon as the next epoch starts. In short, if you are not happy with the performance of your chosen pool you can move your stake, and all you will have lost is a few days’ worth of potential rewards.

Ideally, not at all. However, at least in the starting phase it would be a good idea to check in maybe once every epoch (five days) to get a reassurance that your chosen pool performs to your satisfaction.

Yes. It’s your money at any given moment. There is no restriction as to how long or short a time you can delegate your ADA.