Experts shared their views on staking profitability and risks

Staking is far from a new phenomenon in the crypto world, yet not everyone even has basic knowledge of this earning tool. Recently, we published an article on this topic, and today we want to share experts’ opinions on the prospects of this market and the benefits of staking.

Staking is far from a new phenomenon in the crypto world, yet not everyone even has basic knowledge of this earning tool. Recently, we published an article on this topic, and today we want to share experts’ opinions on the prospects of this market and the benefits of staking.

The Business Development Director of the cryptocurrency mining pool EMCD, Yevgeny Kitkin, noted that staking remains one of the simplest yet most effective ways of earning passive income. He cited DefiLlama data, according to which as of early August 2025, TVL in liquid staking amounted to around $67 billion, about $24 billion of which accounted for ETH. This shows that over the past three years, the staking market has reached an all-time high and continues to grow mainly due to institutional investments.

As for the market’s development, in his opinion, in the coming months we will see a shift of investments from major investors away from traditional assets into ETFs and staking platforms such as Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) and others, since staking offers guaranteed returns for corporate clients at the level of 5–20% annually.

For retail users, according to the expert, staking will remain one of the most popular ways of passive earning. Today, CEX and DEX platforms offer favorable staking conditions for holders of SOL, ADA, ETH, BTC, and a number of other popular coins. Staking returns can reach 400% APY, which attracts new small investors into staking pools. However, risks must not be forgotten. Some platforms, especially in the DEX sector, that promise unrealistically high yields often lack sufficient liquidity, meaning users can lose their savings.

The lead analyst of Bitget Research, Ryan Lee, answered the question of how much higher staking yields are compared to bank deposits.

In traditional bank deposits, returns are usually in the range of 3–8% per year (in some countries even less, in developed economies often 1–3%, in high-inflation economies over 20%). These percentages are fixed, and the deposit sum is protected by government guarantees within the deposit insurance limit.

In staking, returns are usually expressed as APY (Annual Percentage Yield) — the annual rate of return in the form of rewards for locking funds in a network. In large and stable projects, the range is usually 5–20% APY, but this is in tokens, not fiat. If the token’s price falls, returns in fiat equivalent can drop below zero. A high APY (>20–30%) is often found in new or niche projects, but this may indicate high issuance inflation or a marketing strategy to attract attention to a new coin.

For example, if you stake coins with a 15% APY return, and the token’s price rises by 10% over the year, the real fiat return would be around 26.5% (taking into account both price growth and staking rewards). However, if the token’s price falls by 30% in a year, then with the same 15% APY, actual losses would be about 18% in fiat terms.

Ryan Lee recommends choosing a cryptocurrency for staking based on the following criteria:

• token liquidity, network stability (whether there have been network halts, forks, and how often);

• price history (how much the price drops during a crypto winter);

• project team;

• smart contract audit;

• lock-up period (for how long the funds must be frozen);

• minimum stake size (for example, ETH requires 32 ETH).

The most popular are ETH, Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL), Polkadot (DOT), Tezos (XTZ).

The CEO of Tehnobit, Alexander Peresichan, described the technical and market risks to consider in staking.

On the technical side, vulnerabilities can occur both in the blockchain itself and in the smart contracts through which staking is carried out. A contract hack or coding error may lead to full or partial loss of funds. There is also the threat of a “51% attack”, when malicious actors gain control of most validating nodes and can manipulate the network.

For participants delegating their coins to validators, there is the risk of slashing — a penalty for improper validator performance, including missed blocks or attempts to confirm invalid transactions. This may reduce returns or cause partial stake loss.

Market risks are more obvious to all investors but no less dangerous. Even with high nominal returns in tokens, a drop in their market price can make staking unprofitable in fiat terms.

The expert also highlighted hidden fees and staking restrictions.

Most networks involve a “lock-up” period during which staked funds cannot be withdrawn. This period may range from a few days to several months, depending on the blockchain or pool conditions.

Some projects have high minimum entry thresholds. For instance, Ethereum requires 32 ETH for direct staking. If a user doesn’t have that amount, they can use staking pools that combine the funds of many participants. However, pools charge a commission, usually in the range of 5–15% of the reward. It is also important to consider possible network fees for deposits and withdrawals.

If it is about independent staking with running your own node, expenses should include hardware costs, electricity, and constant internet connection, since even a short downtime of the node can lead to penalties or loss of part of the reward.

Since staking is an income-generating tool, this activity will undoubtedly be regulated worldwide. IT consultant on digital technologies Roman Nekrasov explained how things stand in this area.

In a number of countries, steps are already being taken to regulate staking, mainly through requirements for exchanges and staking service providers. They may be required to verify clients’ identities, report to tax authorities, and withhold taxes from rewards. In some places, staking may even be classified as investment activity, which would introduce additional rules and restrictions.

In 2025 in the U.S., Ethereum staking came into the spotlight. The U.S. SEC stated that regular and liquid staking (including stETH and rETH tokens) are not considered securities, which removed part of the regulatory uncertainty. This allowed exchanges to once again offer staking to American clients and funds to apply for ETFs with ETH staking features (meaning investors would receive extra yield from staking in addition to ETH price growth), although decisions on such products have not yet been made.

For regular users, this means that through familiar centralized platforms the process may become a bit more complicated — requiring verification, filling out reports, or paying taxes. Nevertheless, staking access will not be completely closed.

Decentralized solutions will remain available, though their use will require a higher level of technical literacy and risk awareness.

Editor: Jerg Wos

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