stake.link is the leading delegated liquid staking protocol for the Chainlink ecosystem, founded in 2017 by LinkPool. It operates as a decentralized, trust-minimized protocol that facilitates delegated liquid staking into Chainlink's official staking pools, managed by a consortium of 15 top-tier Chainlink Node Operators. When users deposit LINK, the protocol strategically allocates tokens across both the Community Staking Pool and the higher-yielding Node Operator Staking Pool, delivering a blended reward rate that typically exceeds what community stakers earn through native Chainlink staking alone. Users receive stLINK, a liquid receipt token that represents their staked LINK plus accrued rewards, enabling full DeFi composability while their underlying LINK continues securing the Chainlink network. The protocol is governed by the stake.link DAO through the SDL governance token.

What is stLINK and how does it work?

stLINK is the liquid staking token issued by stake.link when users deposit LINK for staking. It represents your staked LINK position plus all accrued staking rewards. stLINK operates through an automatic rebasing mechanism: approximately every two days, staking rewards are calculated and the stLINK supply increases proportionally, automatically growing your wallet balance without any manual claiming or compounding. This means your stLINK balance continuously increases over time. Unlike natively staked LINK which is locked for a minimum 28-day unbonding period, stLINK maintains full liquidity and DeFi composability — it can be transferred, traded on decentralized exchanges, used as collateral on lending protocols like Aave and Morpho, deposited into yield optimizers like Beefy, or wrapped as wstLINK for protocols that require non-rebasing tokens. Withdrawals through stake.link typically process within 1-7 days, and sometimes instantly if liquidity exists in the Priority Pool.

What is the SDL token and why should I stake it?

SDL is the governance and fee-sharing token of the stake.link protocol, serving three critical functions. First, SDL is a fee token — staking SDL returns a percentage of all protocol fees generated across the platform. These fees scale directly with the amount of LINK staked and rewards flowing through the protocol, meaning SDL stakers benefit from protocol growth. Second, SDL is a governance token that grants voting rights in stake.link DAO decisions through the governance forum at talk.stake.link, where proposals (called SLURPs) shape the protocol's future direction, fee structures, and treasury management. Third, staking SDL provides priority access to LINK staking deposits through the Priority Pool — when Chainlink's native staking capacity is full (currently capped at 45 million LINK), users with higher reSDL holdings receive preferential access to new staking capacity as it becomes available.

How does stake.link compare to native Chainlink staking?

stake.link offers significant advantages over native Chainlink staking across four key dimensions. Yield: stake.link delivers a blended APY by staking across both the Community Pool and the higher-yielding Node Operator Pool — the Node Operator pool has a fixed reward allocation that can produce substantially higher effective rates when not fully utilized, and stake.link passes this blended rate to all depositors. Liquidity: native Chainlink staking locks your LINK for a minimum 28-day unbonding period with a 7-day claim window, while stake.link issues liquid stLINK tokens that can be used immediately in DeFi (Aave, Morpho, Beefy, CowSwap) or traded on DEXs. Withdrawals: stake.link processes withdrawals in 1-7 days, sometimes instantly via the Priority Pool, versus the mandatory 28-day lockup in native staking. Auto-compounding: stLINK rewards compound automatically through rebasing approximately every two days, while native staking rewards must be manually claimed and restaked, reducing effective yield for passive stakers.

What analytics does stakedotlink.money track?

stakedotlink.money is the community-built analytics dashboard for the stake.link protocol, funded through governance proposal SLURP-60. It provides comprehensive real-time on-chain analytics including: Total Value Locked (TVL) across all staking pools with historical trend data; stLINK and SDL staking APY with breakdowns by reward source; Chainlink staking pool utilization rates and boost multipliers; DeFi integration yields tracking returns across Curve Finance, Morpho, Beefy, Folks Finance, and Uniswap; governance proposal monitoring with voting statistics; whale movement alerts tracking large staking and unstaking transactions; Priority Pool queue depth and estimated wait times; historical reward distribution data with interactive charts; and portfolio tracking when users connect their wallets. All data is sourced directly from on-chain smart contracts via the LinkPool subgraph, with Chainlink price oracles providing USD valuations — no centralized APIs or third-party data providers.

What is the Priority Pool?

The Priority Pool is a core feature of the stake.link protocol designed to provide fair and efficient access to Chainlink's native staking capacity, particularly when the official pools are full (currently capped at 45 million LINK). When maximum capacity is reached, any LINK deposited into stake.link is automatically queued in the Priority Pool. Unlike a simple first-come-first-served queue, access to available staking spots is meritocratically prioritized by your reSDL (staked SDL) holdings — users with greater commitment to the stake.link protocol receive preferential access. As soon as space opens in the Chainlink staking contracts (due to unbonding or capacity increases), the protocol automatically stakes queued LINK starting with highest-priority users. Once staked, stLINK is minted and made claimable. The Priority Pool effectively eliminates the need for users to constantly monitor staking capacity and manually time their deposits.

What is wstLINK and how is it different from stLINK?

wstLINK (wrapped stLINK) is an ERC-4626 compatible wrapper around stLINK designed for DeFi composability. The key difference is how rewards are represented: stLINK is a rebasing token — your wallet balance increases automatically every two days as rewards are distributed. wstLINK is non-rebasing — your token balance stays fixed but each wstLINK becomes worth more stLINK over time as rewards accrue. wstLINK exists because many DeFi protocols (lending markets, yield optimizers, cross-chain bridges) cannot handle rebasing tokens technically. By wrapping stLINK into wstLINK, users can supply it as collateral on Morpho, provide liquidity in the Curve wstLINK/LINK pool, deposit into Beefy yield strategies, or bridge it cross-chain — all while continuing to earn Chainlink staking rewards through the appreciating exchange rate. Converting between stLINK and wstLINK is always available at the current exchange rate with no fees.

What are the risks of liquid staking with stake.link?

stake.link, like all DeFi protocols, carries several risk categories that users should understand before depositing. Smart contract risk: the stake.link protocol contracts have been audited, but no audit eliminates all risk — a contract vulnerability could result in loss of funds. Slashing risk: Chainlink's staking system includes a slashing mechanism for malicious or poorly performing node operators; while stake.link's 15 NOPs are professionally operated, a slashing event would reduce the underlying LINK balance and stLINK value. Liquidity risk: stLINK's DeFi liquidity (on Curve, Uniswap, etc.) determines how close to 1:1 you can trade it for LINK — in periods of market stress, stLINK may trade at a discount before redemption. Withdrawal timing: redemptions through stake.link take 1-7 days and depend on available liquidity. Protocol risk: governance changes via SDL token holders could alter fee structures or protocol behavior. Chainlink staking cap risk: if the Chainlink staking cap is not increased, LINK may queue in the Priority Pool earning reduced or no rewards until capacity opens.

Which DeFi protocols support stLINK and wstLINK?

stLINK and wstLINK are integrated across multiple DeFi protocols, providing stakers with additional yield opportunities on top of base Chainlink staking rewards. Curve Finance hosts wstLINK/LINK liquidity pools on both Ethereum and Polygon, enabling deep liquidity for swaps with additional CRV and SDL incentives. Morpho offers two lending vaults where wstLINK can be used as collateral to borrow other assets, or supplied to earn lending yield. Folks Finance provides cross-chain DeFi access for wstLINK on Algorand-adjacent chains. Uniswap v3 hosts a stLINK/LINK concentrated liquidity pool for efficient small swaps. Beefy Finance offers auto-compounding yield strategies built on top of Curve positions. All live DeFi integration yields are tracked in real time on the stakedotlink.money analytics dashboard under the DeFi Integrations section.

How many node operators validate stake.link staking?

stake.link is operated by a consortium of 15 professional Chainlink Node Operator Principals (NOPs) — the same operators that run critical Chainlink oracle infrastructure securing billions of dollars in DeFi. These are not anonymous validators; they are established, professionally operated entities with reputations at stake in the Chainlink ecosystem. The 15 NOPs collectively manage LINK allocation across the Chainlink Community Pool and the higher-yielding Node Operator Pool, optimizing for the blended reward rate distributed to stLINK holders. This institutional-grade operator set is a key differentiator from other liquid staking protocols — the security model depends on the same professional infrastructure operators that Chainlink itself relies on. The full list of current NOPs and their allocation percentages is visible on the stake.link analytics dashboard.

What is reSDL and how is it different from SDL?

reSDL is a locked version of SDL represented as a non-fungible token (NFT), created when users lock their SDL tokens for a chosen duration. The key difference from SDL is compounded benefits: while SDL is the liquid governance token, reSDL provides a reward boost multiplier ranging from 1x (no lock) up to 9x (maximum lock duration), earned protocol revenue share in the form of additional stLINK rewards, enhanced voting power in governance proportional to the lock amount and duration, and priority access to LINK staking capacity through the Priority Pool. The reSDL NFT represents the locked position and can be transferred but not split — the entire locked amount moves together. When the lock period expires, users can either extend the lock to maintain their boost or withdraw back to liquid SDL. reSDL is the mechanism that aligns long-term protocol participants with protocol health — the longer and more you commit, the greater your share of protocol revenue.

Do I need ETH for gas?

Yes — staking happens on Ethereum mainnet. You need a small amount of ETH in your wallet to cover the approval transaction (first time only) and the stake transaction itself. Keep at least 0.01–0.02 ETH to be safe, though actual gas costs vary with network congestion.

Can I use a Ledger or Trezor?

Yes, hardware wallets are fully supported. Connect your Ledger or Trezor via MetaMask or WalletConnect. Make sure your device firmware and the Ethereum app are up to date, and that blind signing is enabled if required by your hardware wallet model.

How long does staking take?

Just one transaction (plus a one-time approval if it is your first time staking LINK on stake.link). Your stLINK balance appears in your wallet immediately once the stake transaction is confirmed on-chain — typically 15–60 seconds depending on gas settings.

Is there a minimum stake?

No minimum. You can stake any amount of LINK — from fractions to millions. There is no floor set by the protocol.

Can I unstake at any time?

Yes. You have two exit options: swap stLINK to LINK instantly on Curve (0.1–0.5% slippage, gas efficient), or submit a withdrawal request through the Priority Pool for a 28-day unbonding period with zero slippage. The Curve route is the most common path for smaller amounts.

How to Stake LINK on stake.link (Step-by-Step)

stake.link is a liquid staking protocol for Chainlink (LINK), built by LinkPool — one of the original Chainlink node operators. When you stake LINK, you receive stLINK, a liquid receipt token that represents your staked position and accrues Chainlink staking rewards automatically. This guide walks through every step of the process, from wallet setup to advanced DeFi strategies you can layer on top.

Before You Start

Staking LINK on stake.link happens on Ethereum mainnet. Before you begin, confirm you have the following:

LINK tokens in an Ethereum wallet. LINK is an ERC-20 token on Ethereum — make sure your LINK is on Ethereum mainnet, not on a Layer 2 or another chain.
ETH for gas. You will need ETH to pay for two Ethereum transactions: the ERC-20 approval (one-time) and the stake transaction itself. Keep at least 0.01–0.02 ETH to cover typical gas costs, more during periods of high network congestion.
A compatible wallet. MetaMask (browser extension or mobile), any WalletConnect-compatible wallet (Rainbow, Coinbase Wallet, Trust Wallet, etc.), or a hardware wallet (Ledger, Trezor) connected through MetaMask or WalletConnect. All are fully supported.

Note on hardware wallets: Ledger and Trezor users should connect through MetaMask. Ensure your device firmware and Ethereum app are current. Some hardware wallet models require enabling "blind signing" for contract interactions — check your device's documentation beforehand.

You do not need to be whitelisted or hold any other token. There is no minimum stake amount. Anyone with LINK on Ethereum mainnet can stake immediately.

Step-by-Step Staking Guide

The full staking flow takes two on-chain transactions the first time, and one transaction on every subsequent stake. Here is the complete walkthrough:

Visit stake.link

Go to https://stake.link. This is the official application hosted by the stake.link team. Bookmark it directly and always verify the URL before connecting your wallet. There are no official mirrors or alternative frontends.

Connect your wallet

Click Connect Wallet in the top-right corner. Choose MetaMask, WalletConnect, or your hardware wallet option. Approve the connection request in your wallet. The site will display your wallet address and your LINK balance once connected. Make sure your wallet is set to the Ethereum mainnet network.

Navigate to the LINK staking pool

From the main screen, select the LINK staking pool. You will see the current APY (sourced from Chainlink's on-chain staking rewards), your LINK balance, and the current pool capacity. If the Priority Pool queue shows available space, your deposit will be staked immediately when confirmed on-chain.

Enter the amount to stake

Type the amount of LINK you wish to stake, or click Max to stake your full balance. There is no minimum. The interface will show you how much stLINK you will receive at the current exchange rate. Because rewards compound over time, the exchange rate between stLINK and LINK grows slightly above 1:1 as the pool accrues rewards — if you stake after the protocol has been live for some time, you may receive slightly less than 1 stLINK per 1 LINK.

Approve LINK spending (first time only)

On your first stake, Ethereum requires you to sign an ERC-20 approval transaction authorizing the staking contract to transfer LINK from your wallet. This is a standard ERC-20 pattern. You will be prompted to sign this transaction in your wallet — confirm it and wait for it to be included in a block. This is a one-time cost; you will never need to repeat it for the same wallet.

Confirm the stake transaction

After the approval is confirmed, a second transaction window will appear to finalize the stake. Review the amount, confirm the gas fee in your wallet, and submit. This transaction sends your LINK to the Priority Pool contract (0xDdC796a66E8b83d0BcCD97dF33A6CcFBA8fd60eA) and initiates the staking process.

Receive stLINK

Once the stake transaction is confirmed on-chain, stLINK is minted to your wallet address at the current exchange rate. The contract address is 0xb8b295df2cd735b15Be5Eb419517Aa626fc43cD5. You may need to add this address as a custom token in MetaMask if it does not appear automatically. Your stLINK balance now represents your share of the staking pool and grows automatically as rewards accumulate.

What Happens After You Stake

Once your stLINK appears in your wallet, your position is active and earning. Nothing further is required — you do not need to claim rewards manually, re-stake, or interact with any contracts to accumulate yield.

Your stLINK balance updates automatically through a rebasing mechanism. Approximately every two days, the stLINK contract adjusts every holder's balance upward to reflect the rewards distributed by Chainlink's staking protocol. If you hold 100 stLINK today, you might hold 100.03 stLINK in two days — the number in your wallet grows. This rebasing is executed at the contract level and costs you no gas.

You can track your exact position, historical rewards, and APY on the stake.link analytics dashboard. The dashboard also shows real-time pool utilization, the current LINK/stLINK exchange rate, and queue depth in the Priority Pool.

stLINK is fully transferable. You can send it to any Ethereum address, trade it on decentralized exchanges, use it as collateral, or bridge it to other chains — all while it continues to accrue staking rewards. The token behaves like any ERC-20 with the addition of its automatic balance growth.

Understanding stLINK Rewards

stLINK rewards come from Chainlink's native staking program, in which node operators stake LINK as a security bond. The protocol distributes rewards to stakers from this pool. The APY shown on stake.link reflects the annualized rate based on recent on-chain reward distributions — it is not a guaranteed fixed rate and can change as Chainlink governance adjusts reward parameters or as staking capacity changes.

Rewards compound automatically through the rebasing mechanism. Each rebase event increases the stLINK/LINK exchange rate slightly, meaning your stLINK represents a growing claim on the underlying LINK in the pool. There is no compounding transaction you need to submit — the math is handled by the contract.

You do not receive separate reward tokens. Everything is denominated in LINK. When you eventually unstake, you redeem your stLINK for more LINK than you originally deposited — the difference is your accumulated reward. This makes stLINK a clean, non-inflationary yield vehicle: the supply of underlying LINK in the pool grows, and each stLINK token's redemption value rises accordingly.

Rebasing is free. The balance adjustment (approximately every two days) costs you no gas. You do not need to interact with any contract to receive your rewards — simply hold stLINK in your wallet.

How to Unstake

stake.link offers two paths to exit your staking position. The right choice depends on your size, urgency, and tolerance for slippage.

Instant exit via Curve

Swap stLINK → LINK on the Curve stLINK/LINK pool
0.1–0.5% slippage on typical amounts
Settlement in one transaction (~15 seconds)
Lower gas cost than unbonding
Best for most users

28-day unbonding

Submit a withdrawal request via the Priority Pool
Zero slippage — redeem at exact exchange rate
28-day waiting period
Best for large positions where slippage matters
Continue earning rewards during the unbonding period

For the Curve route, navigate to the Curve stLINK/LINK pool directly or use any aggregator (1inch, Paraswap, Uniswap) that routes through Curve. The pool maintains tight peg thanks to Curve's StableSwap amplification factor, so slippage stays low even for moderate-sized swaps.

For the 28-day unbonding route, return to the stake.link application, select your position, and submit an unbonding request. Your stLINK is locked during this period but continues to accrue rewards until the unbonding period ends. Once complete, you can claim your LINK from the Priority Pool contract at 0xDdC796a66E8b83d0BcCD97dF33A6CcFBA8fd60eA.

DeFi Yield Options After Staking

stLINK is not just a passive receipt token — it can be deployed across several DeFi protocols to earn additional yield on top of Chainlink staking rewards. Here are the main strategies available:

Hold stLINK (passive)

Risk: Lowest

The simplest strategy. Keep stLINK in your wallet and collect Chainlink staking rewards via automatic rebasing. No additional smart contract risk, no active management.

Curve stLINK/LINK LP

Risk: Medium

Provide liquidity to the Curve stLINK/LINK pool to earn Curve trading fees plus SDL token incentive rewards distributed through the gauge system. Requires pairing stLINK with an equal value of LINK.

Wrap to wstLINK for Morpho or bridging

Risk: Medium–High

Wrap stLINK to wstLINK (non-rebasing wrapped version, contract: 0x911D86C72155c33993d594B0Ec7E6206B4C803da) to use it as collateral in Morpho lending markets or to bridge cross-chain via CCIP. wstLINK accrues value rather than balance — the token count stays fixed while its redemption value grows, making it compatible with protocols that do not support rebasing tokens.

The analytics dashboard tracks live APY for each of these venues so you can compare them in real time. DeFi yields are variable and change with market conditions, pool utilization, and incentive program schedules. Always understand the smart contract risks of any protocol you interact with before deploying capital.

Gas Optimization Tips

Ethereum gas costs are the primary friction point in staking smaller LINK positions. Here are practical ways to minimize what you spend on gas:

The approval is a one-time cost. You pay it only on your first stake. Every subsequent stake from the same wallet uses a single transaction. If you plan to stake incrementally, front-loading your first position reduces your per-LINK gas cost over time.
Rebasing is free. You never pay gas for receiving rewards. The contract adjusts your balance automatically — there is no claim transaction to submit.
Exit via Curve instead of unbonding for small amounts. The Curve swap uses significantly less gas than initiating a 28-day unbond, and the slippage cost on small amounts is typically lower than the gas savings.
Time your transactions during low-fee periods. Ethereum gas is cheapest on weekends and during off-peak hours (late night UTC). Tools like ETH Gas Station or Blocknative can help you find windows with sub-10 Gwei base fees.
Batch DeFi interactions. If you plan to provide Curve LP or wrap to wstLINK, plan all your moves before executing — avoid doing them in separate sessions where you pay base fees multiple times unnecessarily.

For reference, the three key contracts involved in the staking flow are: the stLINK token (0xb8b295df2cd735b15Be5Eb419517Aa626fc43cD5), the wstLINK wrapper (0x911D86C72155c33993d594B0Ec7E6206B4C803da), and the Priority Pool (0xDdC796a66E8b83d0BcCD97dF33A6CcFBA8fd60eA). You can verify these against the official stake.link documentation and the on-chain contract source code on Etherscan.

How to Stake LINK on stake.link (Step-by-Step)

Before You Start

Step-by-Step Staking Guide

What Happens After You Stake

Understanding stLINK Rewards

How to Unstake

DeFi Yield Options After Staking

Gas Optimization Tips

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Articles

Liquid Staking vs Native Chainlink Staking

Priority Pool Full? Here’s What To Do

stLINK vs wstLINK: What’s the Difference?