Staking is the process of locking and holding funds in a cryptocurrency wallet to support the operations of a blockchain network. When you stake your crypto, you make the underlying blockchain of that asset more secure and more efficient. And in exchange, you get rewarded with more assets from the network.

How to start Staking?

If you would like to stake funds on the SMART VALOR exchange, you need to navigate to the “Staking“ section of the exchange. This can be found in the sidebar on any page of the exchange.

Once you are here you will automatically see all available cryptocurrencies for staking, as well as an overview of your staking activity. At the top, you can select the type of stake you would like to stake by pressing the “Stake” button under the specific currency.

A screen displaying the staking form will appear on the screen. It will look something like this: 

Once you have selected the desired amount and staking period you can click the “Stake now“ button to stake the funds.

What are the fees for staking?

Smart Valor will charge a service fee of 20% of the actual staking rewards for operational costs. This is currently only for staking ETH. Staking other protocols is free at this time.

• Our philosophy is simple - we want users to earn as much as possible.  However, we cannot ensure or guarantee any rewards, but we will try to optimize such that users get an optimal amount of rewards.
• Please note, Estimated Annual Returns for ETH are net, and operational fees have been calculated and removed from the advertised rate. (20%).

Currently, on the SMART VALOR platform, you can stake the following cryptocurrencies:

• VALOR
• Kyber Network KNC
• Dash DASH
• Ethereum (ETH)

Will there be more currencies available in the future?

Yes, we plan on adding more currencies for staking in the future.

Are there any limits to the amount I can stake?

Yes, there is a minimum and maximum amount you can stake for each token. These limits are the following for each currency:

Is there any minimum staking period?

Yes, this information is provided when staking funds. Some currencies like VALOR have multiple options to select from. Here are the current minimum staking periods:

N.B. If you choose to stake your ETH, your ETH will be pledged for staking and will become locked on the 

Ethereum protocol until Phase 1.5 of the Ethereum network upgrade is completed. Smart Valor has no control 

over the duration or end date for the lockup period, which will ultimately be determined by the success of the 

update to the Ethereum network. Unlike other staking services provided through Smart Valor, you will be 

unable to opt-out of ETH staking once you’ve staked your ETH. Smart Valor will not refund or replace any 

ETH you wish to unstake. You will not be able to trade, transfer or otherwise access your staked ETH or ETH 

staking rewards during the lockup period. 

When staking on the SMART VALOR platform you receive staking rewards.

How is the staking reward calculated?

There is a 24-hour “wait” period before balances are accounted for during our daily snapshots to minimize balance manipulation. After that, your rewards are calculated on a daily basis with the given amount and annual percentage rate. The annual percentage rate is determined by the blockchain protocol itself, the blockchain networks set the underlying return rate depending on the number of staking participants. Hourly rates are accessible on the internet.

How are the rewards calculated for the Kyber Network payout?

Unlike other proof-of-stake coins where the staking comes from inflation (newly generated tokens) at Kyber Network Crystal (KNC), the staking rewards come from the network fees which Kyber Network collects within a certain period (so-called Epoch). The so-called DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) which consists of all KNC holders that are staking their KNCs is voting on how the Collected Network Fees are going to be distributed every month.

The rewards depend on several things: trading volume in the current epoch and the network fees decided in the previous Epoch in combination with the proportion of fees allocated for voting rewards. Rewards are calculated by the amount which Kyber Network generated within the last Epoch multiplied by the percentage which the DAO decided to distribute to the staking participants. For more information check out the following link.

Here are some questions we receive about staking on the SMART VALOR platform regularly:

Am I able to trade the crypto asset while staking?

No, in order to actively stake an asset on the blockchain the stake has to be locked. The exact lockup period varies. We keep it at a minimum whilst also avoiding too many balance switches, in order to decrease overall transaction costs.

Can I participate in the voting if I stake at SMART VALOR?

SMART VALOR is participating in the KyberDAO or the DASH DAO voting on behalf of the users to ensure that rewards are being received. The team is looking into the possibility to enable voting for users at a later time.

How can I redeem my stake?

In order to actively stake an asset on the blockchain and optimize the returns for our customers, every staked asset is subject to a small lockup period. After the lockup period is over, simply unstake your asset and you are able to trade, deposit or withdraw it. The unstake process is fairly quick and depending on the blockchain requires only minutes.

To do this, you need to go to the “Staking“ section, which can be found on the sidebar. Once there you select the staking term you would like to unstake and then click on the ”Unstake” button.

What should I keep in mind when staking KNC?

The Kyber Network Crystals (KNC) can be unstaked anytime. However, you need to keep in mind that the rewards are paid out every two weeks. They call this period an Epoch. Only if your tokens were staked during a full Epoch can you receive the staking rewards. SMART VALOR applies the same principle to its customers. You will receive the rewards only if you have kept them staked for the full Epoch. The rewards are paid out within 3 days after each Epoch ends.