Hi, friends! This is James here.
Today I'm writing about my experience Staking DOT on Binance, one of my favorite 5 places to Stake Polkadot.
I'm also including a trick to enhance your chances of getting higher DOT Staking Rewards on Binance.
If you don't have any experience with Binance, start by reading the topics:
If you already know it, you may skip to one of these:
You can save some time by navigating through the underlined topics.
Let's begin.
How to open your account on Binance to Stake Polkadot
It's very easy to open an account on Binance.
You just need to inform some personal details, and you will then be able to create an account.
After, you may verify your account by informing more details.
This will upgrade your deposit/withdraw limits.
Buying or Transfering DOT to Binance
You may buy DOT and KSM tokens directly on the exchange.
You can buy DOT using BTC, BNB, BUSD, USDT, or other tokens.
If you already have DOT in another place, you may generate an address on Binance to receive DOT.
To generate an address, search for DOT and go to "deposit".
Pay attention to the "Network":
DOT only exists on Polkadot Network.
(The other networks "BNB/BEP2", "BSC/BEP20", and "ETH/ERC20" just have tokens representing DOT, not the real DOT Tokens).
I recommend you send a small amount of DOT to test before sending more DOTs.
And remember:
If you choose to send DOT to Binance, remember to send at least 1 DOT because of the existential deposit.
Also, try to avoid sending batch transactions.
How to Stake Polkadot on Binance - Step by Step Guide:
Here is how to Stake DOT on Binance:
1) First, you need to go to https://www.binance.com/en/pos
If the link is broken, you can also find it in 2 other ways:
Go to Finance > Binance Earn > search for DOT > Locked Staking
Or go to Wallet > Fiat and Spot > search for DOT > click on Earn > Locked Staking
2) search for DOT
3) select how many Days you want to stake your DOT (they will be locked during this period) and click on Stake Now
The APY% will increase if you choose more days.
4) Choose how many DOTs do you want to stake and click on
5) Read (yeah, I'm sure you'll read lol) and check the "I have read and I agree to Binance Staking Service Agreement", and click on Confirm.
Congratulations! Now your DOTs are staked on Binance!
Sometimes you won't be able to click on "Stake Now", because the product is "Sold Out".
This only happens on Binance.
But don't worry.
Below there is a trick to avoid missing the staking opportunities.
A good trick when Staking Polkadot on Binance
This is a trick to enhance your chances of getting higher DOT Staking Rewards on Binance.
It will help you to be ready for the Staking Products when they are about to change from "Sold Out" to "Stake Now".
The trick is from Reddit user u/tilac.
My Experience Staking Polkadot on Binance
Below is my results Staking DOT on Binance, which I previously posted on the best 5 places to Stake Polkadot.
🤑 Stake DOT Rewards on Binance
Binance offers the highest Staking Rewards through three staking products with different durations:
30 days the APY% is 11.51% on DOT and 14.79% on KSM
60 days the APY% is 14.21% on DOT and 15.79% fon KSM
90 days the APY% is 16.62% on DOT and 19.43% on KSM
Sometimes there are even higher APY% (above 20%) in special products, but for a limited amount of tokens per user (like 1 KSM or 10 DOT per user).
Those higher numbers mean that Binance is likely putting your money to work outside the staking. (or it's operating in loss, what I doubt!)
Anyway, in the last months, Binance managed to pay me the Staking Rewards they promised.
But the products are not available all the time.
In this comparison, I will use the average APY that I managed to get on Binance last semester.
By periodically checking on Binance offers, I managed to get:
average rewards of ~14.3% APY for DOT and ~15,5% APY for KSM.
⏳ Binace Liquidity for Staked DOT
When Staking Polkadot on Binance, you need to wait for the product to finish, i.e., 30, 60, or 90 days.
Thus, it then takes more days to unstaking your tokens than in any other place.
But there is an option.
If you don't want to wait for all the duration, you may redeem early your staked Dot, but of course, there is a price:
By redeeming early on Binance, you will lose all the rewards in the period plus pay a fee.
I know that doesn't sound good, but hey, it's just an option.
To have an unpleasant extra option is better than to don't have an extra option at all.
For example:
Suppose you have a financial emergency while your DOT tokens are Staked on Binance.
In this case, at least there is something that you can do to access your funds.
You may evaluate if it is worth losing some DOT to get liquidity.
Now, instead:
Suppose you have a financial emergency while your DOT tokens are Staked directly on the blockchain.
In that case, there is no way to access your funds before the 28 days.
💻 Binance Usability for Staking Polkadot
At first, staking with Binance may look a little confusing since you need to go through many products.
But after you learn the path, it's very easy to stake.
Login on Binance > Finance > Binance Earns > Locked staking or https://www.binance.com/en/pos
The complicated part is waiting and regularly checking to find available staking products.
Most of the time, the products are "Sold out".
To avoid this, check the trick.
🛡️ Security of Staking Polkadot on Binance
The main risk is the custody since your tokens are with Binance, not with you.
The other risks, only related to staking, are lower than staking on-chain.
Binance sure knows how to properly Stake your DOT tokens on-chain.
In normal situations, I bet Binance would likely cover any loss (slash) they eventually cause to your tokens.
Thus, the most considerable risk is still not having custody of your assets.
If you are not taking that into account, then it's indeed safe to stake Polkadot on Binance.
My results of Staking Polkadot on Binance
Here is the compilation of my results Staking DOT on Binance for the last few months:
Conclusion: Is it worth to Stake Polkadot on Binance?
As I posted on my older post about the best places to stake Polkadot, Binance has a significant advantage:
Binance pays the highest Staking DOT rewards, even higher than staking directly on the blockchain.
But there are some other things to evaluate, mainly the custody and the liquidity.
Right now, I don't use Binance for staking DOT (only small amounts to keep studying and tracking it).
And I do this mainly because I really care about having liquidity for the following weeks:
Parachains Slot Auctions on Polkadot are coming and I intend to contribute to the Crowdloans.
Consider subscribing for free, and I will keep you updated on it! ;)
Cheers! 🥂