A Complete Beginner’s Guide to Mining Cardano

As Cardano continues to gain popularity, there has been a growing number of crypto users looking to contribute to the blockchain. Do you wish to participate in securing the Cardano network? Well, we will show you how to do that in this article.

Exploring Cardano

Founded in 2017, Cardano is one of the leading blockchains in the crypto world today. The network was created by the co-founder of Ethereum, Charles Hoskinson. Cardano is powered by its native token called ADA, which boasts a total supply of 45 billion.

Like Ethereum, Cardano adopts the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, which requires those who wish to secure the network to stake ADA.

How Cardano Works

As mentioned, Cardano uses the PoS algorithm, which is considered more eco-friendly than the PoW (Proof-of-Work) algorithm. As a PoS blockchain, Cardano relies on staking pools to allow interested stakers to commit their funds to the network. The staking process is super easy. We will take you through that process later in this article.

Cardano has two layers: the Settlement Layer and the Computational Layer. The former records transactions on the Cardano blockchain, while the latter facilitates automatic transactions.

Is it Possible to Mine Cardano?

The simplest answer to this question is No! You cannot mine Cardano, but you can stake to earn rewards. This is good news, especially for those who are unable to buy costly mining machines. So, how does one stake Cardano? As mentioned earlier, staking Cardano (ADA) is simple. You only need an ADA-compatible wallet to get started. Moreover, you can stake ADA on crypto exchanges that support the staking of this token.

Staking Cardano on Yoroi Wallet

Yoroi is an ADA-compatible wallet that comes as a browser extension. Here is how you can stake Cardano on this wallet:

Step 1: Install the Yoroi browser extension on your preferred browser.

Step 2: Set up a new wallet and add some Cardano tokens. Use the “Receive” button to transfer ADA from an external source.

Step 3: Once you have your ADA tokens, click “Delegate List” within the Yoroi wallet to see the available staking pools. Select your ideal pool and press “Delegate.” Once you do so, you will have committed your ADA tokens to the Cardano network, and you’ll start receiving rewards after a block is successfully mined. Note that you will incur some charges when delegating.

Staking Cardano on Daedalus Wallet

Daedalus Wallet is specifically designed for storing and staking ADA. When you download it, it will come with the entire Cardano blockchain. Here is how to stake Cardano on Daedalus Wallet:

Step 1: Install Daedalus on your desktop and set up a new wallet. Remember to keep your seed phrase somewhere secure.

Step 2: Within the wallet, click “Delegation Centre” and then “Stake Pools.”

Step 3: Select a stake pool and enter the amount of ADA you wish to delegate.

Step 4: Click the “Delegate” button to stake your Cardano.

Staking Cardano on Crypto Exchanges

As stated, it is possible to stake ADA via a crypto exchange. You will receive staking rewards on a daily basis. For the purpose of this article, we will show you how to stake Cardano on Binance and Kraken.

Staking Cardano on Binance

Step 1: Create and verify a Binance account.

Step 2: Go to “Simple Earn” and search Cardano or ADA.

Step 3: Selecting the staking period. It could be 30, 60, or 90 days. Next, press the “Stake Now” button.

Step 4: Binance will ask you to enter the amount of ADA to be staked. After that, click the “Confirm” button.

Staking Cardano on Kraken

Step 1: Create and verify a Kraken account.

Step 2: Go to the “Staking” tab and select ADA.

Step 3: Enter the number of ADA tokens you want to stake.

Step 4: Click “Stake” to start earning daily rewards.

Conclusion

Cardano staking offers a simple way of earning passive income in the crypto space. If you find staking on a decentralized wallet like Yoroi challenging, you can choose to stake ADA on centralized exchanges like Kraken and Binance.