How To Stake Solana On Ledger Live And Earn Passive Income Up To 8% APY

This guide will outline the step by step approach of “How to stake Solana directly on the Ledger wallet via Ledger Live application” or “How to stake Solana on Ledger Live”. Web wallets can be vulnerable to online attacks like phishing or data interception. We can use Ledger devices to access your wallet to prevent theft of funds and make staking safe. Hackers will not be able to steal coins without access to your hardware wallet.

Before proceeding we will refresh some of the basic concepts like what is Solana, what is staking and then jump straight to the steps needed to stake Solana on Ledger. You can directly jump to the steps for Solana staking if you are well apprised of the following basic concepts.

Table of Contents

What is Solana and SOL?

Solana is a high performance blockchain platform. It is way faster than other blockchain platforms including Ethereum and Bitcoin in processing transactions. It can process up to 65000 transactions per second (TPS).

SOL is the native cryptocurrency of the Solana blockchain.

The Solana blockchain platform was launched on 16th March 2020. Solana was founded by Anatoly Yakovenko and Greg Fitzgerald.

What is Solana Staking?

Staking refers to the mechanism of locking your cryptocurrencies (Solana in this case) to the Smart Contract of a blockchain platform, in order to secure the blockchain network and in the process earn rewards. It is a type of consensus mechanism (Proof of Stake) in which the node which adds the next block of transactions in the ledger (of the blockchain), is decided on the basis of the number of native cryptocurrencies being staked or locked by the node. The more a node stakes the more is the chances of it getting to add the next block of transaction.

Staking is somewhat analogous to a bank savings account. You lock your funds (for a time period) in the bank savings account and in return the bank pays you interest on your savings. Similarly, in staking you lock your cryptocurrencies in the blockchain (smart contract) to secure it and get rewarded in return.

To better understand ‘Solana Staking’, we first need to understand the concepts of validators and delegators in Solana or blockchain in general.

Validators and Delegators

Validators are the full nodes in Solana (or blockchains which follow Proof of Stake consensus mechanism), who can participate in the Proof of Stake consensus mechanism and hence verify and add the next block of transactions in the Solana blockchain. Hence, validators help to maintain the speed, security and censorship resistance of the Solana network. Running a validator node is quite costly and cumbersome. It requires high throughput computer systems. Not everyone specially someone who is just starting in Solana staking would prefer investing this much time and effort to become a validator to stake Solana. You can check the complete specifications here.

If this is the case, then how do you stake Solana? The answer is by becoming a delegator.

A delegator is any other node in the Solana network (like you and me), which delegates their Solana tokens to a validator to further stake them, earn rewards and pay a percentage of the reward back. The delegator helps one or more validator nodes to compete against other similar validator nodes. As you might be knowing, Solana is a Proof of Stake consensus blockchain platform. The probability of verifying and adding the next block in Solana is dependent on the amount of SOL staked by the validator node. Hence, delegators stake SOL tokens with validators who then compete with other validators to add the next block in the blockchain.

Note: Technically delegators do not give access and control to their SOL balance to the validators. Delegators just give their voting rights to the validators, while the access and control to the SOL balance remails with the delegator.

What is Solana Staking?

Staking in Solana refers to the phenomena in which delegator nodes stake SOL (native token of Solana) at the validator nodes to help them compete against other similar validator nodes for adding the next block in the Solana blockchain. The validator earns rewards in SOL if it wins the chance to add the next block in the Solana blockchain. A percentage of this reward is returned to the delegator.

How to stake Solana on Ledger Live

From January of 2022, it is now possible to stake Solana directly from your Ledger wallet using the Ledger Live application. We can directly use the dashboard of the Ledger Live application to stake Solana. Earlier, we were required to connect a Solana compatible software wallet like Solflare or Phantom with Ledger to stake Solana on Ledger.

Ledger has partnered with Figment which is one of the leading providers of blockchain infrastructure. This partnership has made it possible to stake Solana directly via the Ledger wallet.

Let us check the step by step guide procedure of ” How to stake Solana on Ledger Live”. But first check the pre-requisites for the same.

Pre-requisites:

Laptop and Internet connection
Ledger wallet with the latest firmware version (Nano S/Nano S Plus/ Nano X).
Latest version of Solana application to be installed in your Ledger wallet (version 1.2.0 or above)
Latest version of the Ledger Live application (2.41.1 or above)

How to Stake Solana on Ledger Live

Step 1: Install the latest versions

Make sure you are using the latest firmware on your Ledger wallet, i.e. Nano S/Nano S Plus/ Nano X. Also, use the new version of the Ledger Live application. You can download the Ledger Live application here. The Ledger Live version which allows staking directly from Ledger is 2.41.1 or above. You can check the Ledger Live version you are running by visiting the Settings Tab of Ledger Live application.

Check the “About” section to check the version of Ledger Live, you are running.

Step 2: Install Solana application on Ledger Live

The next step is to download the Solana application on Ledger Live.

Connect your Ledger Nano S/Nano S Plus/ Nano X to your computer. Unlock your Ledger Nano by entering the 4 or 8 digit security PIN.

For the rest of this guide, I will simply write “Ledger Nano” to denote any version of Ledger Nano you own.

In Ledger Live, go to Manager>App Catalog and search for Solana (please check the snapshot below).

Install Solana. Once you install Solana, it will be displayed in your Ledger Live application as well as Ledger Nano device.

Step 3: Fund SOL tokens to your Solana account

The next step is to fund SOL tokens to your Solana account in case you do not have SOL purchased earlier. You can buy SOL from various centralized and decentralized exchanges like Binance, Coinbase, FTX, KuCoin, Gate.io, Kraken, Gemini.

Step 4: Start Staking your SOL directly from the Ledger Live application

In this guide, I already have SOL tokens in my Solana account.

Open your Solana application in your Ledger Nano device, so as to make transactions. Once the Solana application is open, it will display ” Application is Ready” as shown in the snapshot below.

Note that “Blind Signing” is not required here, because you are directly delegating to the Ledger. If you would have delegated via a third party software like Solflare or Phantom, you would have required “Blind Signing” enabled.

In Ledger Live application go to Accounts and click on your Solana account.

Now click on Earn Rewards.

As you can see I have a low SOL balance, yet am able to delegate SOL. That is the beauty of Solana that it allows you to stake low balance of SOL.

The next step is to select the validator. You can select to go with the Ledger by Figment validator then click Continue. Or if you do not wish to delegate to Ledger by Figment validator, click Show all and select a different validator.

Select the amount of SOL you wish to delegate then click Continue.

A prompt appears on your Ledger device. Review and approve the transaction on your Ledger device.

Ledger Live displays: Broadcasting transaction…

Ledger Live displays: You have successfully delegated your assets. Congrats you have staked SOL via the Ledger Live application.

It might happen that the system rejects your staking request at first due to extreme congestion in the Solana network. In that case please try again and you will be able to successfully stake your Solana.

How to withdraw inactive SOL delegation to your SOL balance in your main account

Navigate to your inactive balance in your Ledger Solana account in Ledger Live, then select Manage > Withdraw.
Click Continue after selecting the SOL amount you want to withdraw.
On your Ledger device, approve the transaction.

The Ledger Live displays: You have successfully withdrawn your assets.

The pop-up window should now be closed.

Your SOL withdrawal and staking earnings will be credited back to your Available balance after the transaction is verified. You’ve completed the task.

How much SOL should I delegate?

It is not a good idea to delegate all your SOL to a validator. When you will claim your staking rewards (from your delegated account to the main account of your wallet), it will ask for some SOL (though very minimal) as the transaction fees (Gas Fee). If you delegate all your SOL to the validator node, then you won’t be able to pay this transaction fees and hence cannot take back the staking rewards.
Hence, keep some SOL (I will say 0.01 at least) in your main account wallet while staking to a validator like Ledger by Figment.

How much time does it take for the delegated balance to be activated and start earning staking rewards?

It takes up to 3 days for the SOL delegated to be activated and start earning staking rewards. The staking rewards are accrued in your delegated balance.
For these 3 or less days while the delegated account status is “activating”, no staking rewards are earnt. Once the status shows “active”, the staking rewards start accruing to the delegated balance.

When delegating Solana does your SOL is in control of the validator?

No. The SOL balance always remain in your control and access. When delegating to a validator, you only delegate your voting rights for decisions to be taken on the Solana network.
The validator has no access to your coins at any time; they stay safely in your possession and can be unstaked at any moment (albeit with a slight delay)

How much do you make staking Solana?

Generally the staking rewards of SOL are 7-8% annually. If we take it as 7% per annum and stake 10 SOL today, then next year at the same time we will have 10.7 SOL.
Check out this Solana Staking calculator by Atomic wallet.
Solana staking wallet by xceres

What is the best way to stake Solana?

The best way to stake Solana is via the Ledger Nano wallet. Sincere and long term investors should always opt for a hardware wallet for staking Solana. The hardware wallet Ledger Nano (Nano S/Nano S Plus/ Nano X) directly supports Solana staking via the Ledger Live application.
Hardware wallets offer more security than a software wallet like Phantom, Solflare, Atomic Wallet, etc. This is because in hardware wallets your crypto coins (technically private keys to access the coins in the respective blockchain) are stored offline in your wallet. However, in software wallets the crypto coins are stored online in the wallet. Although there are various security measures implemented, however these online coins are vulnerable to online hacks and malicious attacks.
Buy Ledger Nano

Should you stake Solana?

Yes. Solana staking is a great way to accrue more SOL on your idle SOL balance in your wallet. Rather than keeping the SOL idle in your wallet, you can contribute to the security of the Solana blockchain and hence earn staking rewards. The staking rewards are in the range of 7-8% APY.

Can I stake Solana?

Yes, if you have Solana in your account, then you can stake Solana by transferring them in a Solana compatible wallet like Solflare, Phantom, Exodus, Atomic Wallet and even Ledger.
How to stake Solana on Solflare
How to stake Solana on Phantom
How to stake Solana on Ledger Live

Can I stake Solana on Ledger?

Yes. You can directly stake Solana on Ledger using the Ledger Live application. Or you can use software wallets like Solflare to stake Solana on Ledger.

Which wallet is best for Solana staking?

How to stake Solana on Ledger Live-Conclusion

Staking SOL on the Ledger wallet via the Ledger Live application is not a very cumbersome process. You can simply choose the Ledger by Figment validator which is owned by Ledger. However, you can opt for a different validator. While choosing a Validator, you must make sure you do your homework. When staking SOL, one of the biggest dangers is when a Validator is slashed. Slashing is the loss of all or part of a Validator’s delegated stake as a result of malicious behavior such as producing invalid transactions or censoring particular types of transactions or network members.

Furthermore, Ledger wallet is a much secured mode of staking Solana as compared to staking in software wallets like Phantom or Solflare.

Solana is one of the most prominent blockchain platforms which is highly regarded by developers and other probable users. It is witnessing an upward trend in being widely accepted for Smart Contracts, NFTs, Metaverses and other probable blockchain use cases. Hence the utility of SOL is increasing day by day.

Hence, buying and staking SOL might be a good long term approach to reap in profits. But please conduct proper comprehensive research before making any investments.

This guide is not an investment advice. It is my personal opinion. Please undergo proper research before investing in cryptocurrencies.
Disclaimer

If you are sincerely looking forward to invest in cryptocurrency space and hold the investments for long, use a hardware wallet like Ledger or Trezor. These wallets store your cryptocurrencies (keys to cryptocurrencies) in an offline environment which is therefore cannot be the victim of an online hack or malware practice. Storing your digital assets in an Exchange or software wallet often attract online attacks and malwares.
Word of Advice

Buy Trezor Model One

Buy Trezor Model T

Buy Ledger Nano S and X