9 Best Crypto to Stake in 2026

Cryptocurrency staking is the process of temporarily locking up your coins to strengthen the security of a cryptocurrency network and earn additional coins in return. Staking is incorporated by blockchains that utilize a Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm, which is the most popular type of consensus algorithm in use today.

Crypto staking is generally considered one of the best crypto passive income strategies, allowing users to put their idle crypto assets to use to generate a yield and provide security to underlying blockchain networks. 

In this article, we’re highlighting the best cryptos to stake in 2026 based on several criteria, such as profitability, ease of participation, as well as the strength of the underlying cryptocurrency.

The best crypto to stake in 2026

Below, you’ll find our selection of the best crypto to stake right now. We’ve made sure to include a diverse range of blockchains, ranging from well-established projects with long track records to slightly newer contenders in the cryptocurrency market.

*Data as of May 26, 2026. 

Now, let’s take a closer look at each of the best cryptocurrencies to stake individually.

1. Ethereum

Ethereum is the leading blockchain platform for smart contracts, and it has been running on a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism since 2022. 

You can stake Ethereum by running a solo validator or use alternative staking methods, such as on-chain liquid staking protocols or staking services offered by centralized cryptocurrency exchanges. 

Most crypto investors won’t be able to run an Ethereum solo validator – the process requires some technical knowledge, but the biggest hurdle is the 32 ETH (roughly $113,000) requirement to launch a validator, which most people simply can’t afford. 

Thankfully, you can still benefit from ETH staking rewards even if you only own a small amount of ETH. You can stake your ETH through liquid staking protocols such as Lido, where you will receive tokens representing your staked coins. You can use these tokens in DeFi applications or simply hold them in your wallet. Once you’re ready to unstake, you can redeem the liquid staking tokens for ETH. 

Currently, ETH stakers are earning an APY of roughly 2.7%. While Ethereum’s staking APY is not as high as what you’ll find on other blockchains, ETH is a well-established cryptocurrency that’s likely to deliver a more stable performance than lower market cap altcoins, which might offer better APYs, but also have higher price volatility. 

ETH stakers also have the ability to earn additional yield through restaking solutions such as Eigenlayer, which allows ETH to be staked on multiple different chains that require the economic security of Ethereum staking. 

If you want to explore further, make sure to check our article explaining Ethereum staking in-depth.  

2. Stacks

Stacks is a Bitcoin layer 2 that brings smart contracts, decentralized applications, and Bitcoin-backed assets to the ecosystem without needing any modifications to Bitcoin itself. Its blocks are anchored to Bitcoin, and following the Nakamoto upgrade in October 2024, Stacks added quicker block production and Bitcoin finality for confirmed transactions.

Stacks also supports sBTC, a 1:1 Bitcoin-backed asset designed for DeFi and applications, and uses Clarity, a smart contract language built to make contract execution more predictable and transparent.

STX holders can lock their tokens to support the Stacks network's security and earn BTC rewards. This process is called "stacking", and supports the Proof-of-Transfer (PoX) mechanism used by Stacks. The BTC rewards for stackers come from miners that commit Bitcoin to unlock the ability to mine blocks on the Stacks chain. Since its launch in 2021, more than 3,600 BTC has been distributed to stackers.

Stacks is in the process of upgrading the stacking mechanism with a new mechanism called Bitcoin Staking. The mechanism, which will launch with a target BTC APY of 3%, will involve users simultaneously locking their BTC and STX. You can learn more about this upcoming upgrade at the project's official Bitcoin Staking explainer.

3. Solana

Solana is a rapidly growing blockchain platform that offers very low fees and fast transactions on top of its smart contracts capabilities. Solana is based on Proof-of-Stake, and you can increase your SOL holdings passively by staking your coins. At the time of writing, SOL stakers are earning an APY of roughly 5.7%.

Just like with Ethereum, anyone can run a Solana validator, although it’s not exactly easy to access. The reason for this is that you need a very performant server-grade machine to validate Solana transactions successfully. 

Per the hardware recommendations provided by Solana Labs, you’ll need a CPU with a base clock speed of 2.8GHz or higher with at least 12 cores / 24 threads, 256GB of RAM, and ample storage to run a Solana validator. On top of that, you’ll need a fast internet connection. The cost of putting together such a setup is substantial, but it is actually more accessible than obtaining 32 ETH to run an Ethereum validator. 

The most realistic way for the vast majority of holders to participate in SOL staking is to delegate their stake to an already existing validator. In turn, you will receive a portion of the staking rewards earned by the validator, minus a commission (some validators don’t charge a commission, while others charge as high as 7%).  

If you hold SOL, staking it is fairly simple – leading Solana wallets such as Phantom and Solflare make the process highly accessible. There are also some centralized exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase that can stake SOL on your behalf, if you don’t mind having your crypto custodied by someone else. 

4. Tron

Tron is one of the most established blockchain networks for decentralized applications and stablecoin transactions. It runs on a Delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPoS) consensus mechanism, which makes it highly efficient and suitable for fast, low-cost transfers. TRON holders can earn passive income by staking their TRX and participating in the network’s governance. At the time of writing, TRX staking yields around 3.2% APY.

Unlike traditional staking systems, TRON uses a Super Representative (SR) model. There are 27 SRs that validate transactions and produce blocks, while users can delegate their TRX to these representatives and receive a share of the rewards. This process can be done easily through official wallets like TronLink or via exchanges such as Binance and KuCoin.

TRON also offers resource staking, where users lock TRX to obtain Energy and Bandwidth used for transactions. These resources can even be rented out through marketplaces like tronenergy.market, allowing holders to earn additional TRX without unfreezing their stake. This flexibility makes TRON one of the more dynamic staking ecosystems in the market.

5. Cardano

Cardano is a blockchain platform with smart contracts that has a strong staking ecosystem. Currently, ADA stakers are earning an APY of roughly 2.2%.

To participate in ADA staking, you can delegate your coins to an existing stake pool or launch a stake pool of your own. For most ADA holders, delegation will be the more sensible choice, as running a stake pool successfully requires solid technical knowledge of server management and the Cardano blockchain. 

You also need to pledge a large amount of ADA or attract a large number of delegators to make running a stake pool more worthwhile than simply delegating your ADA to an existing stake pool. 

You can easily delegate your ADA to a stake pool and start earning rewards using a Cardano wallet such as Yoroi or Eternl. 

An alternative way to earn a yield on your ADA holdings is to stake your coins through centralized exchanges such as Kraken. 

6. Algorand

Algorand is a blockchain platform with a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism that the team has dubbed “Pure Proof-of-Stake”. The reason why it’s called “pure” Proof-of-Stake is because the Algorand network does not rely on delegates. Instead, each staker participates in the consensus process directly, and their influence on the consensus is proportional to the size of their stake. 

ALGO stakers are currently earning an APY of about 4.7%. Users can stake their ALGO by participating in the Algorand governance system, which is conducted in quarterly periods. Users are required to commit a governance stake for a period of 3 months and vote on different governance proposals. You can use an Algorand wallet, such as Pera wallet, to stake your ALGO coins.

Please keep in mind that if you want to stake your ALGO, you must do so during the signup phase of each governance period. If the signup period for the current governance period has already ended, you’ll have to wait until the next governance period starts. You can learn more on the official Algorand Governance website. 

7. Cosmos

Cosmos is a network that’s designed to allow different blockchain platforms to interoperate with each other. The Cosmos network is coordinated by the Cosmos Hub, a Proof-of-Stake blockchain. 

The Cosmos Hub is also designed to facilitate connections with blockchains outside of the Cosmos ecosystem, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. The different blockchains that make up Cosmos communicate through a protocol called IBC (Inter-Blockchain Communication). 

The ATOM token is the staking token of the Cosmos Hub blockchain, and ATOM stakers are currently earning an APY of about 19.5%. You can stake your ATOM to earn rewards through a Cosmos wallet such as Keplr. Some exchanges, such as Coinbase and Binance, also offer ATOM staking services.

While anyone is allowed to run a Cosmos Hub validator, most users will opt to delegate their ATOM coins to an existing validator. By doing so, you can earn a portion of the staking rewards collected by the validator, minus a commission. The commissions charged by Cosmos Hub validators tend to range between 5% and 20%.

8. NEAR Protocol

NEAR Protocol is a high-performance blockchain platform that uses sharding to achieve strong scalability. The NEAR project is focusing on AI-related use cases which are enabled by the blockchain's dynamic sharding, fast finality and private execution capabilities. These properties make NEAR suitable for AI agents. 

Developers can build smart contracts for NEAR using familiar programming languages, including Rust and Javascript. The protocol also includes an incentive for development: every time a smart contract is executed on NEAR, its developers receive 30% of the burned gas fee. 

One of the most impactful products originating from NEAR is NEAR Intents, a multichain transaction protocol that allows users to define their desired outcome while third parties compete to deliver the optimal solution. In practice, NEAR Intents are used most frequently to seamlessly swap between different types of cryptocurrencies across a variety of blockchain networks.

The NEAR blockchain is secured through Proof-of-Stake, and NEAR token holders can delegate their tokens to validators in order to earn staking yield. At the time of writing, NEAR stakers can earn an APY of around 4.8%.

9. Celestia

Celestia is a layer 1 blockchain that’s optimized for data availability. It is based on the Cosmos Software Development Kit and uses the Tendermint algorithm to achieve consensus. Moreover, Celestia can be used as an efficient and scalable data availability layer by rollups and layer 2 blockchains.

If you hold TIA coins, you can stake them with a wallet that supports the Celestia blockchain – Kepler and Leap are popular options. The most convenient way to stake TIA is to delegate your coins to a validator. 

TIA stakers are earning an APY of roughly 5.1% at the moment. An added bonus is that TIA stakers can be eligible for token airdrops from projects that are building on top of the Celestia platform. 

The bottom line

Most of the major blockchains in use today use Proof-of-Stake consensus, which means there’s ample opportunity for cryptocurrency investors that want to passively grow their holdings through staking. 

When choosing which Proof-of-Stake coins to buy and stake, make sure that you consider factors other than the raw APY. Remember – even if you are theoretically earning a very high APY on a cryptocurrency through staking, you could still end up with a loss in dollar terms if the value of the cryptocurrency in question declines substantially. For long-term staking, it’s best to stick to high-quality blockchain projects, even if the rewards might be lower on paper. 

For more tips related to crypto investing, make sure to explore our ultimate guide to investing in crypto.