Everything you need to know about liquid staking on stake.link
| Feature | stLINK | Direct Staking |
|---|---|---|
| Liquidity | ✅ Instant (Curve) | ❌ 28-day lockup |
| DeFi Use | ✅ Yes | ❌ Dead capital |
| Reward Claiming | ✅ Automatic | ⚠️ Manual |
| Unbonding | ✅ Curve or 28d | ⚠️ 28 days |
| Composability | ✅ Full | ❌ None |
| Base APY | Same | Same |
| Additional Yield | ✅ SDL + Curve | ❌ None |
| Validator Choice | ⚠️ Delegated (15 NOPs) | ✅ Your choice |
| Complexity | ✅ Simple | ⚠️ Technical |
| Feature | stLINK | wstLINK |
|---|---|---|
| Balance Behavior | Increases (rebasing) | Stays constant |
| Value per Token | ~1:1 to LINK | Increases over time |
| DeFi Support | ⚠️ Limited | ✅ Full |
| Lending | ❌ No | ✅ Yes (Morpho) |
| Liquidity Pools | ⚠️ Some | ✅ Most |
| Cross-chain | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Simple Holding | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Less intuitive |
| Reward Tracking | ✅ Easy | ⚠️ Requires math |
stLINK is a liquid staking token for LINK. When you stake LINK through stake.link, you receive stLINK in return, allowing you to earn staking rewards while maintaining liquidity and DeFi composability. Unlike direct staking, stLINK is tradeable and can be used across DeFi protocols while your underlying LINK earns rewards.
wstLINK is the wrapped version of stLINK, designed for maximum DeFi compatibility. While stLINK rebases (your balance increases over time), wstLINK is non-rebasing—the number of tokens stays constant, but each token becomes worth more LINK over time. Use wstLINK for collateral in lending protocols, liquidity pools, and cross-chain use.
Visit stake.link, connect your wallet, enter the amount of LINK you want to stake, and confirm the transaction. You'll receive stLINK immediately at the current exchange rate. Your stLINK balance will automatically increase as staking rewards accrue (~daily).
You have two options: (1) Instant Exit via Curve: Trade stLINK for LINK on Curve with small slippage and no waiting. (2) Unbonding: Request withdrawal through stake.link, wait 28 days, receive LINK at exact exchange rate with no slippage.
Smart contract risk (mitigated by Cyfrin audit and 3+ years of operation), validator slashing risk (15 professional NOPs with $5B+ stake and 100% uptime), liquidity risk (Curve pool could have reduced liquidity during high withdrawal demand), depeg risk (market conditions could cause stLINK to trade at discount), and validator risk (diversified across 15 operators).
stLINK earns the same base staking rewards as direct staking. Rewards accrue automatically to your balance ~daily through rebasing. A 10% performance fee is taken from rewards to fund validator operations and protocol development. Additional yield is available through SDL incentives on Curve LPs.
APY varies based on network staking participation and validator performance. Check the LINK pool card on the main dashboard for live APY data. Additional yield is available through Curve pool LPs (trading fees + SDL incentives) and lending protocols (Morpho for wstLINK).
15 professional Chainlink Node Operators with $5B+ in combined Ethereum stake and 100% uptime track record. These include LinkPool (Espresso's #4 validator), ChainLayer, 01node, Fiews, and others. Full transparency available in the Validators section of the dashboard.
Rebases occur ~daily. Your stLINK balance increases automatically as rewards accrue—no manual claiming required. The exchange rate is updated to reflect: newRate = (totalLINK + rewards) / totalstLINK.
Curve Finance (stLINK/LINK pool with SDL incentives), Morpho Lending (use wstLINK as collateral), Uniswap V3 (future), Folks Finance (wstLINK on Avalanche), and cross-chain bridges (future). wstLINK is specifically designed for DeFi compatibility.
Use the wrapping calculator on this dashboard or visit stake.link. Wrapping is instant and free (gas only). When you wrap stLINK → wstLINK, you receive fewer tokens but each is worth more LINK. When you unwrap, you get back more stLINK (reflecting accrued rewards).
The Curve pool provides instant liquidity for stLINK exits and enables dual yield (trading fees + SDL incentives). It uses the stableswap curve optimized for 1:1 assets, maintaining low slippage. Arbitrageurs keep stLINK close to its intrinsic value.
SDL tokens are distributed to liquidity providers in the Curve pool as additional yield. These incentives run for 6-month campaigns and significantly boost LP returns. Check the DeFi section of the dashboard for current SDL APY on Curve LPs.
stLINK uses an elastic supply model. When you stake LINK, you receive stLINK at the current exchange rate. As validators earn rewards, the exchange rate increases, and all stLINK balances grow proportionally. Your balanceOf() automatically reflects accrued rewards—no transaction needed.
28 days. This is the time required to unstake and withdraw LINK when using the direct unbonding method (guaranteed exact rate, 0% slippage). For instant exits, use the Curve pool (small slippage, no waiting).
Slashing means validators lose a portion of their stake for misbehavior. Risk is minimized through: 15 professional operators (diversification), $5B+ combined ETH stake (economic security), 100% uptime track record (proven reliability), and Cyfrin audit (smart contract security). Zero slashing events to date.
Yes. stake.link has been professionally audited by Cyfrin, Sigma Prime, Zellic, and Trust Security. Contracts are open source (github.com/stakedotlink/contracts), battle-tested through 3+ years of stLINK operations ($60M+ TVL), and have zero security incidents.
Yes. Risks include validator slashing (mitigated by 15 professional NOPs), smart contract bugs (mitigated by audit and 3+ years operation), depeg scenarios (market-driven, arbitrage corrects), and liquidation if using as collateral in lending protocols. Always DYOR and only stake what you can afford to lose.
Common causes: insufficient gas, wrong network selected, approval needed first, transaction will fail warning (increase slippage), or nonce too high/low (clear pending transactions). Check your wallet's activity tab and verify you're on Ethereum mainnet.
stLINK rebases occur ~daily. If your balance hasn't updated: (1) Check when the last rebase occurred, (2) Verify you're viewing the correct wallet address, (3) Refresh the page and clear cache, (4) Check Etherscan to confirm your stLINK balance on-chain.
This indicates the Curve pool has insufficient liquidity for your trade size. Options: (1) Reduce trade amount, (2) Split into multiple smaller trades, (3) Use the unbonding method (exact rate, no slippage, wait ${mechanics?.unbondingPeriod} days), or (4) Wait for pool liquidity to increase.
Troubleshooting steps: (1) Refresh the page, (2) Disconnect and reconnect wallet, (3) Clear browser cache and cookies, (4) Try a different browser, (5) Update your wallet extension, (6) Check if the website is on the correct network (Ethereum mainnet).
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