What is staking?
Staking is the act of bonding QAU to activate a validator — a participant in Quantaureum's QPOS consensus. Validators propose blocks and check each other's work; a validator requires a minimum bond of 6,000 QAU, and the protocol caps how much a single validator can bond. Delegators can bond to an existing validator, which charges a commission on rewards.
Staking is two things at once. For Quantaureum, it is the security mechanism at the heart of QPOS: the QAU validators put at stake is what makes their votes on the state of the chain trustworthy, because an attacker would need to control the majority of all staked QAU to threaten the network. For you, staking is a way to earn QAU rewards for participating honestly in that process.
Honesty is enforced with penalties. Validators that miss their slots lose the rewards for those slots, while provable misbehavior — such as signing two conflicting blocks — results in slashing: 5% of the validator's bond is destroyed and the validator is permanently removed from the active set.
Why stake your QAU?
How to stake your QAU
It depends on how much you are willing to bond, and how directly you want to operate. You need at least 6,000 QAU to run your own validator, or you can delegate to an existing validator with a smaller stake.
The options below are ordered from most protocol-native to most abstracted. Operating your own validator is the baseline: you hold your own keys and the protocol pays you directly. Each option after it solves a real access problem — less QAU, no hardware, or more convenience — in exchange for trusting an operator or contract with your funds.
Self-operated validating
Running your own validator is the gold standard for staking on Quantaureum. Nothing stands between you and the protocol: you hold your own Dilithium signing keys, and the protocol pays full rewards directly to your reward address. It also strengthens the decentralization of the validator set.
Self-operating validators should have at least 6,000 QAU plus a buffer for transaction fees, and a dedicated machine connected to the internet around the clock. Some technical know-how is helpful — the node software and validator tooling are open source.
Rewards accrue every block but are not paid out automatically: claim them explicitly with the validator tooling. Before bonding on mainnet, rehearse the full flow on testnet. Run a node to get started.
Delegated staking
If you do not want to deal with hardware, delegation lets a validator operator run the node while you keep ownership of the bonded QAU. The operator charges a commission (between 1% and 100%) on the rewards your stake earns.
Delegating lets you keep custody of your funds; the operator never holds them. What you delegate is trust in their operation: a badly run node simply earns less, but a compromised operator can affect your rewards.
Choose operators carefully — check their uptime, commission, and community reputation before bonding. Delegation markets on Quantaureum are still young; verify any operator's identity independently before transferring stake.
Liquid staking
Delegating through the protocol issues STQAU, a QRC-20 receipt token that represents your staked QAU plus accrued rewards.
Because STQAU is a standard QRC-20 token, it can be held in any Quantaureum wallet, moved, or used on-chain while your original stake keeps validating.
Third-party liquid staking services are not yet established on Quantaureum. Anything presenting itself as such should be verified independently before you send funds.
STQAU is issued by the protocol itself; it is not a claim on any third party. The underlying validator still controls validation, and rewards follow the operator's commission.
Centralized exchanges
Some centralized exchanges may offer staking services for QAU. They can be a fallback to earn some yield with minimal effort, if you are not yet comfortable holding QAU in your own wallet.
The trade-off is that exchanges consolidate large pools of QAU. This creates a large centralized target and point of failure, which is dangerous for the network and its users. No exchange listing implies any endorsement — verify everything independently.
If you don't feel comfortable holding your own keys, that's okay. These options are here for you. In the meantime, consider checking out our wallets page to learn how to take true ownership over your funds.
As you may have noticed, there are several ways to participate in Quantaureum staking. These paths target different users and vary in risks, rewards, and trust assumptions. We describe what the protocol itself supports; always do your own research before sending QAU anywhere.
Comparison of staking options
There is no one-size-fits-all solution for staking. Here we compare the risks, rewards and requirements of the ways you can stake on Quantaureum.
All staking approaches at a glance
The table below covers the paths the protocol supports today: self-operated validating, delegation to an existing validator, and custodial staking through centralized exchanges. Every step away from running your own validator adds an intermediary between you and the protocol.
| Approach | Your keys? | Your hardware? | Intermediary introduced | Who pays you? | Minimum QAU |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Self-operated validating | Yes. You hold the validator signing keys and the reward address. | Yes. You run your own node. | None. You interact directly with the protocol. | The protocol pays you directly when you claim. | 6,000 QAU. |
Delegation | No. The operator holds the validator keys; you keep ownership of your delegated stake. | No. The operator runs the node. | The validator and its commission. | The protocol pays the validator; you receive your share minus commission. | Depends on the validator. |
Delegated staking | No. The operator controls validation; your stake stays yours. | No. The operator runs the node. | The operator's software and infrastructure. | The protocol pays your validator; the operator charges a commission on rewards. | Depends on the validator. |
Liquid staking | No. The operator controls validation; you hold an STQAU receipt token. | No. The operator runs the nodes. | The operator's infrastructure and the STQAU receipt token. | The protocol, via the STQAU receipt's accrued rewards, minus commission. | Depends on the validator. |
Centralized exchanges | No. The exchange has custody of your QAU. | No hardware needed. | The exchange's custodial platform. | The exchange, according to its terms. | Any amount. |
Restaking is not part of QPOS. Bonded QAU secures the Quantaureum network only; there is no restaking mechanism in the protocol. More in the FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Staking is live on Quantaureum mainnet (chain ID 1668) today.
This means that staking is currently live for users to bond QAU, run a validator, and start earning rewards.
Rehearse on testnet (chain ID 1669) first: generate validator keys, bond, and claim rewards end to end before committing mainnet funds.
More on the networkYou can unbond at any time. Unbonding is subject to a cooldown before the stake becomes spendable again, so plan around that delay.
Rewards are not paid out automatically — claim them explicitly with the validator tooling to your configured reward address.
More on the Quantaureum networkAt least 6,000 QAU to run your own validator, or you can delegate to an existing validator with a smaller stake. A single validator may bond much more — the protocol caps how much a single validator can accumulate.
Validators charge a commission between 1% and 100% on the rewards your delegated stake earns; compare operators before bonding.
After bonding, a new validator waits for the next activation window before joining the active set; on Quantaureum's 12-second blocks this is typically minutes, not weeks.
Unbonding similarly passes through a cooldown before funds are spendable. Delegating is quicker: your stake starts following the chosen validator once confirmed.
There is no separate staking token in the protocol: the native currency is QAU, and staking does not change what it is.
Delegating stake issues STQAU, a QRC-20 receipt token that represents your bonded QAU plus accrued rewards. Learn more about liquid staking
No. Restaking does not exist on Quantaureum. Bonded QAU secures the Quantaureum network only — the protocol has no mechanism to reuse stake to secure additional applications, and any service claiming otherwise is not part of the protocol.
More in the FAQ