How to Stake on Walrus

As a proof-of-stake network, similar to Sui, Walrus allows token holders to stake Walrus' native token, WAL, to any of the storage nodes that support the network. Through staking, you're putting your tokens to work, earning WAL token rewards, and helping secure the network. 

Over 100 independent storage node operators support Walrus, the decentralized storage protocol that allows applications and blockchain ecosystems to write, read, verify, and manage any data type onchain. As users pay to store and access their data on Walrus, the storage node operators receive those fees as payments, covering their own costs to maintain server capacity. 

Each of these node operators must maintain a certain amount of WAL to remain as an active validator on the network. Along with the operators' own contributions, any token holder can commit WAL to a storage node, helping it maintain the amount it needs to support Walrus. Your contribution to a node's stake earns a portion of the storage fees based on the proportion of WAL contributed. You may choose to unstake your contribution at any time, although there may be a delay of up to a month before the tokens become liquid, due to the length of Walrus epochs.

How to stake WAL

You will need two things to begin staking to Walrus: a wallet that works on Walrus and a quantity of WAL tokens you wish to stake with some SUI to pay for fees. As one example, Sui Wallet supports Walrus and includes services where you can purchase or swap SUI and WAL.

1. Open the Walrus staking site (https://stake-wal.wal.app/) in a browser. Always ensure that you are on the official Walrus staking site and be cautious of links from other sources, as there is the possibility of phishing attempts.
2. Click the Connect Wallet button in the upper right of the Walrus staking site, then approve the connection in your wallet.
3. Choose a storage node operator from the Current Committee list of nodes and click the Stake button next to it. Note that only nodes in Walrus' Current Committee produce staking rewards.
4. Select the amount of WAL to stake and approve the transaction in your wallet.

For every Walrus epoch, which lasts two weeks, you earn a percentage of WAL based on your contribution. You will earn that yield for every epoch that passes. To begin earning yield in the next epoch, you must commit your stake in the first half of the current epoch, otherwise, you will not be eligible to earn WAL rewards until after the next epoch.

How to unstake WAL

At some point you will want to claim your staking rewards, the WAL you earned, putting it back in your wallet for other uses. With the Walrus staking app, you can easily claim your rewards and unstake any amount of WAL you currently have staked.

1. Open the Walrus staking site (https://stake-wal.wal.app/) in a browser.
2. Scroll down to the Your Staked WAL section of the app and click the Unstake or Withdraw button.
3. You can also select a specific node listing and unstake from there.
4. Choose the amount you want to unstake and approve the transaction in your wallet.

Once you choose to unstake, your WAL will appear back in your wallet after a delay of up to a month, depending on how much time has elapsed in the epoch. For actions to occur in the next epoch, they must be initiated before the midpoint of the current epoch. The current progression through epochs can be found at the top of the Walrus staking site. If the timing is such that a full epoch passes before you reclaim your WAL, you will earn staking rewards for that additional epoch.