Stake.link Launches Cross-Chain LINK Staking on Arbitrum, Easing Gas Fee Worries
In Brief
Stake.link has introduced cross-chain LINK staking on Arbitrum, for refined Chainlink staking and mitigating high gas fees issue.
Delegated liquid staking protocol for the Chainlink Ecosystem, Stake.link has introduced cross-chain staking on Arbitrum, a Layer-2 network on the Ethereum blockchain. With the milestone, Stake.link aims to expand its reach and provide a refined Chainlink staking experience while addressing the issue of high gas fees.
The recent decision to go cross-chain on Arbitrum was reached based on the recent vote of the Stake.link Governance Council. As a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO), Stake.link is governed by a council of 7 seats, comprising Chainlink node operators and two community seats. Proposals, known as SLURPs, require a simple majority of 4 seats to pass.
The proposal for deploying Stake.link to Arbitrum was put to vote on January 24 and successfully passed with a unanimous vote of 6-0 in favor of the proposal a week later. Currently, 45,000,000 LINK tokens secure the feed.
With the release of Chainlink Staking v0.2 in December 2023, users gained the ability to withdraw LINK and its rewards for the first time. However, these transactions, especially when performed individually, can be costly and are expected to become even more expensive over time.
“The availability of cross-chain staking on Arbitrum offers the Chainlink community users several benefits, including a substantial reduction in gas costs associated with staking and withdrawing LINK tokens, including the withdrawal of rewards earned from staked LINK,” Jonny Huxtable, CEO of LinkPool and Founding Core Contributor of Stake.link told MPost. “By utilizing Arbitrum, LINK stakers can enjoy a more cost-effective and efficient staking experience compared to those on the Ethereum network.”
Stake.link simplifies the process for members of the Chainlink community to contribute collateral in the form of LINK to 15 prominent Chainlink node operators, earning rewards in the form of stLINK, the protocol’s liquid staking receipt token.
With stLINK, users benefit from a blended staking reward from both the Chainlink Community Staking Pool and the Node Operator Staking Pool. Additionally, they can engage in DeFi activities by pooling their stLINK in the Curve Finance stLINK/LINK pool while their staked LINK tokens continue to generate rewards from node operators.
“Instead of manually monitoring and refreshing the staking page in the hope of securing a spot when the Community Pool opens, stake.link takes care of this process by staking deposited LINK on behalf of token holders into the stake.link Priority Pool, the dedicated holding zone for LINK tokens, using smart contract automation. This ensures a hassle-free, “set and forget” staking experience,” added Stake.link’s Huxtable.
Staking on Arbitrum to Enhance Accessibility and Efficiency
The popularity of Chainlink staking on Ethereum mainnet has surged over the past 14 months, leading to challenges for everyday stakers due to Ethereum’s congestion and high gas fees. To address this, Stake.link now offers the option to stake LINK on Arbitrum, a move aimed at reducing costs and increasing accessibility for users.
By expanding to Arbitrum, users can stake both LINK tokens and Stake.link’s SDL governance token, receiving an NFT that represents staked SDL, known as reSDL. Additionally, users can bridge their stLINK receipt tokens and convert them to wrapped staked LINK (wstLINK) tokens on Arbitrum.
“Stake.link stakers enjoy rewards from both Chainlink Staking Pools—the Community Staking Pool and the Node Operator Staking Pool. The Node Operator Staking Pool offers a higher reward rate and receives a 4% delegation fee from all rewards earned by the Community Staking Pool,” Stake.link’s Huxtable explained.
“This unique blended reward structure, exclusive to stake.link, results in an anticipated blended reward rate of approximately 8.36% for stakers, combining the community pool’s 4.32% and the node operator pool’s 12.37%, minus protocol fees. This exceeds the native Chainlink staking effective rate of 4.32% as of Feb 2024.”
This strategic decision not only improves the staking experience for the Chainlink community but also opens up opportunities for yield-generating DeFi activities on Arbitrum. Stake.link also benefits from its association with Arbitrum, which offers grants for projects deploying on its network.
As the sole third-party liquid staking solution for the Chainlink ecosystem, Stake.link continues to provide the highest LINK staking rewards available. Its expansion is crucial for the evolution of Chainlink, a foundational component of the Web3 ecosystem, powering a wide array of DeFi and Onchain Finance applications.
The introduction of cross-chain LINK staking marks a significant step forward in Stake.link’s mission to enhance the accessibility and efficiency of staking in the Chainlink Ecosystem, ultimately contributing to the growth and security of the network.
“To realize Chainlink’s mission of providing Oracle services to all permissionless and permissioned blockchains, it’s imperative begin expanding LINK Staking to other blockchains in order to ensure robust security for Decentralized Oracle Networks (DONs),” said Huxtable. “The deployment to Arbitrum signifies a groundbreaking move—the first instance of LINK Staking going cross-chain. This strategic expansion lays the foundation for the required security infrastructure that will underpin the global financial industry.”
Disclaimer
In line with the Trust Project guidelines, please note that the information provided on this page is not intended to be and should not be interpreted as legal, tax, investment, financial, or any other form of advice. It is important to only invest what you can afford to lose and to seek independent financial advice if you have any doubts. For further information, we suggest referring to the terms and conditions as well as the help and support pages provided by the issuer or advertiser. MetaversePost is committed to accurate, unbiased reporting, but market conditions are subject to change without notice.
About The Author
Victor is a Managing Tech Editor/Writer at Metaverse Post and covers artificial intelligence, crypto, data science, metaverse and cybersecurity within the enterprise realm. He boasts half a decade of media and AI experience working at well-known media outlets such as VentureBeat, DatatechVibe and Analytics India Magazine. Being a Media Mentor at prestigious universities including the Oxford and USC and with a Master's degree in data science and analytics, Victor is deeply committed to staying abreast of emerging trends. He offers readers the latest and most insightful narratives from the Tech and Web3 landscape.
More articles
Victor is a Managing Tech Editor/Writer at Metaverse Post and covers artificial intelligence, crypto, data science, metaverse and cybersecurity within the enterprise realm. He boasts half a decade of media and AI experience working at well-known media outlets such as VentureBeat, DatatechVibe and Analytics India Magazine. Being a Media Mentor at prestigious universities including the Oxford and USC and with a Master's degree in data science and analytics, Victor is deeply committed to staying abreast of emerging trends. He offers readers the latest and most insightful narratives from the Tech and Web3 landscape.
