How to Stake Aptos (APT)
APT staking earns approximately 7% APY by delegating to validators through the Petra Wallet or OKX Wallet. A 30-day lockup applies to staked APT, after which it can be unstaked with an unlock period. Liquid staking through Tortuga Finance (tAPT) or Ditto Finance (stAPT) provides immediate liquidity with matching yield rates minus a small fee. stAPT and tAPT can be used in Thala Labs and Liquidswap for additional DeFi yield. Aptos DeFi yields are generally higher than base staking: Echelon and Joule Finance offer 8–15% APY for APT lending, and Thala's MOD stablecoin system allows APT to be used as collateral.
Staking Methods
Run your own validator node or delegate directly to network validators. Highest trust — you maintain full custody. Requires technical knowledge and sometimes a minimum stake amount.
Deposit APT into a liquid staking protocol (Lido, Rocket Pool, Jito, etc.) and receive a liquid staking token representing your staked position. Use the LST in DeFi while earning staking rewards.
Stake through a centralized exchange (Binance, Kraken, Coinbase). Simplest approach but requires trusting the exchange with custody of your APT.
Staking Risk Considerations
- !Slashing risk: some networks penalize validators for downtime or equivocation
- !Smart contract risk: liquid staking protocols can have bugs
- !Lock-up periods: unstaking may take days or weeks depending on the network
- !APY variability: staking yields fluctuate with network activity and inflation
- !Liquid staking token depeg: LSTs can trade at a discount during market stress