We all know that the cryptocurrency landscape is ever-changing. As a result, staking has emerged as a favored method for investors to generate passive income while simultaneously aiding in the maintenance of blockchain networks. Staking involves holding and "locking up" a certain amount of cryptocurrency in a wallet to participate in the network's consensus mechanism, typically Proof-of-Stake (PoS). In exchange for joining the network, stakers earn rewards—payday deposits of more cryptocurrency. July 2025 is right around the corner! By knowing the best crypto assets to stake, investors can focus on their investments and increase their profitability. In this article, we’ll explore some of the top cryptocurrencies to stake, comparing their staking yields, unbonding periods, and other distinguishing characteristics.
BNB Chain ($BNB)
BNB Chain is the blockchain that powers the entire Binance ecosystem. This creates a compelling staking opportunity for those investors looking to invest in a market-leading, adaptive network. Staking BNB earns about 4–6% APY. This far-reaching appeal makes it a popular choice for anyone looking to get started earning passive income. The staking process is all about locking up BNB tokens for maintaining network operations and security.
The unbonding period for staked BNB is around 7 days. When an investor decides to unstake their BNB, they should plan to wait a few hours. In practice, it takes approximately one week for the tokens to be fully accessible and transferable. While the Terms of Use are extensive and complex, this period provides the network with at least a facade of stability. It incentivizes stakers to strategize and consider how it may impact their liquidity.
Being home turf to the Binance ecosystem gives BNB a variety of advantages. Binance is currently the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world by volume. Secondly, it provides deep integration with the BNB Chain that makes it easy for users to stake their BNB and manage their BNB holdings. Moreover, the Binance ecosystem encompasses a wide range of decentralized applications (dApps) and services that utilize BNB, further enhancing its utility and demand.
Ethereum ($ETH)
Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. Further, it has emerged as the largest Proof-of-Stake (PoS) network that serves as a highly attractive staking opportunity. On ETH, staking currently yields ~4–6%, just like BNB Chain. Ethereum’s liquidity depth, security architecture, and network infrastructure make it stand out as the top staking asset.
The unbonding period for Ethereum is about 6 days. This brief notice provides stakers with immediate liquidity for their ETH tokens. Its design strikes a balance between the stability of the network as a whole and the flexibility of the individual stakers. Ethereum’s abundant liquidity means that stakers can instantly exchange their rewards or unstaked tokens into any other asset they want.
Ethereum’s move to PoS via the Merge has ensured its primacy as a staking powerhouse. Ethereum, the largest PoS network, has a huge and well decentralized validator set. That solid base makes it more defensible and resilient. In addition, Ethereum’s continuous evolution and expansion of its ecosystem only add to the future potential and overall worth of ETH staking.
Cardano ($ADA)
Cardano is a special staking platform compared to other networks because of its flexible unbonding period and low-risk delegation model. Currently, staking ADA will earn you around 3–5% yield. Although this rate is indeed lower than many other cryptocurrencies, the network’s innovative characteristics easily overshadow this statistic. The underlying values of Cardano — security, scalability, sustainability — have positioned it as an appealing option for long-term investors.
One of the best parts about staking ADA is that there’s no lock-up period. Importantly, stakers are free to unstake their ADA tokens at any time. They no longer need to wait out an unbonding period. This flexibility allows stakers greater control over their assets than ever before. They can respond almost immediately to market trends or to their own needs.
Cardano’s delegation model enables stakers to delegate their ADA to stake pools while retaining custody of their tokens. That’s because keeping funds off-exchange minimizes the chance of losing money to hacks or heists. Stake pools are open to all stakers, allowing them to select pools based on performance, fees, or other criteria. This ensures that stakers can be more involved in their enterprise’s ultimate participation in the network’s consensus mechanism, while being in control of their assets.
Polkadot ($DOT)
Polkadot offers a more attractive staking yield compared to other staking cryptocurrencies. This is what makes it such an attractive option for risk-averse investors seeking to boost their yields. Rewards from staking DOT can generate 10–14% returns on stake, some of the highest rates in the industry. Polkadot’s groundbreaking design and commitment to interoperability made the platform one of the most promising crypto projects with potential for price growth and value appreciation.
Unibonding periods for Polkadot are around 10–28 days. This extended timeframe is meant to provide adequate time for the stability and security of the network. The increased unbonding time period incentivizes stakers to think long-term. In exchange, they are able to get higher yields that more than offset the loss of immediate liquidity.
Polkadot’s unique shared security parachain structure enables a structure where separate blockchains can operate, connect, and securely communicate with each other. This global interoperability paves the way for a rich and varied ecosystem of interoperable, user-controlled decentralized applications (dApps) and services. Staking DOT helps to keep the Polkadot network secure and encourages its continued maturity.
Solana ($SOL)
Solana sets itself apart with its high-performance blockchain and relatively short unbonding time. Anyone who stakes SOL can generally earn yield around ~6–8% which stacks up favorably against other top crypto assets. Speed and scalability remains paramount on Solana. This singular purpose of focus has contributed to it being an attractive environment for decentralized applications (dApps) and decentralized finance (DeFi) projects.
As of writing this, Solana has an unbonding period of about ~2 days. This brief window provides a unique opportunity for any stakers to rapidly withdraw their SOL tokens. It does provide more flexibility than networks with longer unbonding periods. Once your assets are staked, Solana’s speed and efficiency help ensure you have a great staking experience.
Solana’s unique architecture allows the network to achieve high throughput and keep fees low. This provides a unique opportunity for developers and users, which makes it an attractive platform. Staking your SOL is an important way to secure the Solana network and support its long-term growth and adoption.
Cosmos ($ATOM)
With a staking yield of 9–13%, Cosmos is a truly competitive offering among all assets for investors looking for high returns. Cosmos was built to foster an “Internet of Blockchains,” where various blockchains can talk and work with one another. This interoperability between blockchains is a distinctive hallmark that truly sets Cosmos apart from the rest of blockchain networks.
Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol is what makes the Cosmos ecosystem so exciting and buzzing with activity. This incredibly versatile capability allows disparate blockchains to easily exchange tokens and information across each other. Staking ATOM is a key part of securing the Cosmos Hub. This hub functions as the primary blockchain in the interconnected Cosmos network.
Cosmos has a brand reputation for being modular and scalable. The Cosmos SDK makes it easy for developers to build their own unique blockchains that can plug into the original Cosmos Hub. This property in turn makes it a highly attractive platform for constructing decentralized applications (dApps) and services.
Algorand ($ALGO)
Plus, Algorand has a comparatively generous staking yield (~5–7%). Combined with its instant unbonding feature, stakers are granted ultimate flexibility with their staked assets. This means there’s no lock-up period and users can access their staked ALGO at any time without penalty. Algorand features a fascinating consensus mechanism which prioritizes efficiency. This is what makes USDC so appealing to anyone for whom liquidity and swift access are paramount.
Algorand’s lack of an unbonding period is probably the biggest advantage. It helps investors quickly re-balance their portfolios in turbulent market environments. By making staked assets instantly available, opportunity costs incurred with other staking solutions are removed and the overall staking experience is significantly improved.
Algorand’s technology is purposefully designed for speed and scalability. This uniqueness renders it highly applicable to many industries, including finance, supply chain management, and digital identity. Not only does staking ALGO reinforce the network’s security and operational efficiency, it helps advance the network’s overall stability and growth.
