After buying ETH, many people repeatedly check the price, but rarely look back: over the past year, has the amount of ETH they hold changed?
For ETH that you plan to hold for the long term and have no immediate plans to use, there is another easily overlooked return: participating in staking to accumulate more ETH while holding.
This return comes from the Ethereum network itself. Staking is Ethereum's native mechanism for maintaining network security: validators participate in block validation, maintain network operation, and receive ETH rewards according to protocol rules. Through staking, the ETH you hold can also participate in this.
Let ETH work for Ethereum, and for you too.
For long-term holders, this gives holding an extra layer of meaning: while continuing to hold ETH, participate in the network and accumulate rewards. By choosing a staking model that supports compounding, eligible rewards can continue to participate in staking, allowing accumulation to continue.
And to participate in this, not everyone needs to become a node operation expert. imToken Stake brings the entry points for non-custodial staking and liquid staking into the wallet users are already familiar with, allowing ETH holders with different needs to find a method that suits them.
Non-Custodial Staking
Non-custodial staking is suitable for users who hold 32 ETH or more, want to participate in Ethereum native staking, and do not want to run a validator themselves.
Through imToken Stake, users can complete the ETH staking process within the wallet and retain withdrawal control; validator deployment, operation, monitoring, and maintenance are provided by imToken and professional node infrastructure service providers.
This means users do not need to prepare their own servers or configure complex work such as execution layer and consensus layer clients. Users can participate in Ethereum staking with a lower barrier to entry, while avoiding handing withdrawal control to a third-party custodian.
This is also the most important value of non-custodial staking:
Asset control remains in the user's hands, while validator operations are handed to professional infrastructure service providers.
For long-term ETH holders, this is a more balanced way to participate. It retains the characteristic of native staking being directly connected to the Ethereum protocol, while also reducing the technical and operational pressure required to run a validator yourself.
It is worth mentioning that imToken's non-custodial staking now supports a "compounding" mode, allowing staking rewards to continue accumulating within the validator and automatically reinvest, further improving the capital efficiency of long-term ETH staking.
Why does non-custodial staking require professional operations?
Non-custodial staking may look like simply depositing 32 ETH, but behind it is a continuously running validator system.
Validators need to remain stably online and correctly participate in block proposal and validation; node clients need to be upgraded in a timely manner; the operating environment needs sufficient stability; key management, monitoring alerts, and exception handling also require long-term maintenance.
If a validator is offline for a long time, offline penalties may occur; if violations such as double signing occur, there may also be Slashing risk. Therefore, for ordinary users, independently running a validator is not a low-barrier option.
imToken Stake's non-custodial staking aims to hand this complexity to professional infrastructure service providers. Users focus on asset allocation and staking decisions, while service providers handle validator operation and maintenance, with each side taking on the role that suits it better.
This is not simply handing ETH to some platform, but rather, on the premise of retaining the user's withdrawal control, letting professional node services lower the barrier to participating in non-custodial staking.
Liquid Staking
For users who care about liquidity, imToken Stake also provides an entry point for liquid staking. Users can participate in staking in smaller amounts through the liquid staking service provider Lido, and Lido will also issue users a liquid token representing staking rights, stETH, allowing users to retain a certain degree of on-chain liquidity while participating in staking.
The advantage of liquid staking is a lower threshold and more flexible use, making it suitable for users who want to participate in ETH staking with a smaller amount, or who want staked assets to continue participating in DeFi.
However, liquid staking is not a native Ethereum protocol feature, but is provided by third-party protocols. Before participating, it is necessary to understand the smart contract, liquidity, and other risks that the corresponding protocol may involve.
Solo Staking
For users with technical ability who want to participate more deeply in building the Ethereum network, solo staking remains an important option.
Users can refer to Ethereum's official documentation on solo staking and validator setup, prepare equipment themselves, configure the network environment, run clients, and complete validator creation and maintenance.
This method requires users to bear the work of hardware, networking, key backup, client upgrades, uptime maintenance, and risk management themselves. It has the highest barrier to entry, but also gives users more complete autonomy.
Solo staking is more suitable for users who are willing to learn and maintain nodes over the long term and want to personally participate in the operation of Ethereum consensus.
One Entry Point, Three Paths
There is no single standard answer for ETH staking. What imToken Stake hopes to provide is not just a staking entry point, but a clearer framework for choosing ETH staking methods. It helps users understand the asset control, operational responsibility, liquidity conditions, and risk assumptions behind each method, and make choices according to their own needs.
Going forward, imToken Stake will also continue to focus on security, autonomy, and transparency, providing more users with a clear and reliable ETH staking experience. Staking, in your control.
Original link: https://support.token.im/hc/zh-cn/articles/63148524381721
About imToken
imToken is a decentralized digital wallet used to carry assets, identity, and data in the Web3 digital world. Founded in 2016, imToken has provided secure and trustworthy digital asset management services to more than tens of millions of users across more than 150 countries and regions worldwide. imToken now supports managing cryptocurrencies and digital assets such as NFTs on 35+ mainstream blockchains, and provides features such as hardware wallets, token swaps, and a DApp browser.
Official website: https://token.im