What is delegated staking?
Delegated staking represents a category of staking services where you deposit your own 32 ETH for a validator, but delegate node operations to a third-party operator. The process usually involves being guided through the initial setup, including key generation and deposit, then uploading your signing keys to the operator. You provide the ETH, but hand the operation of the validator's hardware to someone else.
The Ethereum protocol does not natively support delegation of stake, so a range of services have been built to fill this demand. This category is best known as staking as a service (SaaS), but it covers a spectrum of arrangements that differ on the key question of how much control you keep over your staked ETH:
- Non-custodial staking as a service: you keep your own withdrawal keys and delegate only validator operation.
- Fully custodial staking: the provider, usually an exchange, holds both the keys and the funds.
Compared to solo staking, every form of delegation places middleware between you and the Ethereum protocol. That middleware is software and infrastructure run by someone else's business. Each step toward convenience adds a trust assumption, so before choosing a service, work out where it sits on this spectrum.
What delegated staking is not
- Pooled staking and liquid staking tokens: with pools you combine any amount of ETH with other stakers, usually receiving a token that represents your share of the pool's stake. You are not delegating your own validator; the pool's smart contracts and node operators control the validators. More on pooled staking
- Bonded node operation: some staking protocols let you run a validator on your own hardware with less than 32 ETH by posting a bond. That is node operation, the opposite of delegation, and is covered alongside solo staking.
Why delegate your staking?
If you have 32 ETH to stake, but don't feel comfortable dealing with hardware, delegated staking services allow you to hand off the technical side while you earn native Ethereum block rewards.
Comparison of staking options
Home staking
Similarities include having your own validator keys without having to pool funds, but with SaaS you must trust a third-party, who may potentially act maliciously or become a target of attack or regulation themselves. If these trust assumptions or centralization risks concern you, the gold standard of self-sovereign staking is solo staking.
Learn more about home stakingLiquid & pooled staking
These are similar in that you're generally relying on someone else to run the validator client, but unlike SaaS, pooled staking allows you to participate with smaller amounts of ETH. If you're looking to stake with less than 32 ETH, consider checking these out.
Learn more about pooled stakingThe delegation spectrum
Providers differ in which keys they hold for you, and every key they hold is something you must trust them with.
Non-custodial staking as a service
With non-custodial SaaS, you're typically guided through generating your validator keys and making your own 32 ETH deposit, then you upload the signing keys to the operator. The signing keys allow the operator to perform validator duties (attesting and proposing blocks) on your behalf. Misusing them can get your validator penalized or slashed, but they cannot be used to withdraw, transfer, or spend your funds.
The validator's withdrawal credentials stay pointed at an address you control. Rewards and exited funds can only ever go there (see the trust model section below).
Custodial services and exchange staking
At the fully delegated end of the spectrum sits custodial staking, most commonly offered by centralized exchanges. You never handle keys at all; you just hold ETH in your platform account and opt in to staking. This is the simplest possible user experience, and it's a legitimate option for people who already keep funds on an exchange and accept custodial risk.
It also requires the most trust. The provider controls both the signing keys and the withdrawal credentials; what you hold is a balance on their platform, not a validator. That means:
- Your staked ETH is exposed to the provider's solvency, security, and regulatory situation, and withdrawals are subject to their terms and processing times, not just Ethereum protocol rules.
- You have no independent way to exit the validator or recover funds if the provider fails or freezes withdrawals.
- Large amounts of ETH staked under a handful of exchange operators contribute to stake centralization, and these operators' client choices affect the health of the network. Staking in a way that keeps more control in your hands, or choosing providers that demonstrably run minority clients, does more for Ethereum's resilience.
Trust model: what to evaluate
Delegated staking always means trusting someone else with part of your staking setup. Answer these questions before handing anything over:
- Who holds the withdrawal keys? A validator's withdrawal credentials (type 0x01 or 0x02) point to an execution layer address that ultimately controls the stake. If that address is yours, the arrangement is non-custodial; the operator can run (or mismanage) the validator, but the ETH can only ever be withdrawn to you. If the credentials point to the provider's address, you hold a promise, not a stake.
- Can you exit without the operator? Since the Pectra upgrade, execution layer triggered withdrawals (EIP-7002) (opens in a new tab) allow the withdrawal address to trigger a validator exit (or, for compounding 0x02 validators, a partial withdrawal of balance above 32 ETH) directly from the execution layer, without the signing keys. It requires a transaction and costs gas, but it means an unresponsive or defunct operator can no longer hold your validator hostage, provided the withdrawal credentials are yours.
- What is the fee structure? Services charge a flat monthly fee or a percentage of rewards. Check how fees interact with downtime and penalties: who bears the cost if the operator underperforms, and whether any guarantees or insurance are offered.
- Which clients does the operator run? An operator running majority execution or consensus clients exposes both your stake and the network to correlated failure if that client has a bug. Prefer providers that document minority client usage.
- Is the service open and audited? Providers may run additional software around the standard Ethereum clients that is not open source or auditable. Look for public audits, an established operating history, and a clean slashing record.
- What happens if the provider disappears? A responsible provider documents its offboarding process, providing clear instructions for how you exit your validator, recover your keys, or trigger an exit yourself. If the answer depends entirely on the provider staying in business it is a custodial arrangement.
What to consider
There are a growing number of providers to help you delegate the operation of your validator, but they all have their own benefits and risks. All delegated options require additional trust assumptions compared to solo staking. Delegated options may have additional code wrapping the Ethereum clients that is not open or auditable. Delegation also has a detrimental effect on network decentralization. Depending on the setup, you may not control your validator, and the operator could act dishonestly using your ETH.
Attribute indicators are used below to signal notable strengths or weaknesses a listed provider may have. Use this section as a reference for how we define these attributes while you're choosing a staking service.
Open source
Essential code is 100% open source and available to the public to fork and use
Open source
Closed source
Explore staking service providers
Below are some available staking-as-a-service providers. Use the above indicators to help guide you through these services.
SaaS providers
Please note the importance of supporting client diversity as it improves the security of the network, and limits your risk. Services that have evidence of limiting majority client use are indicated with "execution client diversity" and "consensus client diversity."
Key Generators
Have a suggestion for a staking-as-a-service provider we missed? Check out our product listing policy to see if it would be a good fit, and to submit it for review.
Frequently asked questions
Arrangements differ from provider to provider. With non-custodial services, you will be guided through generating the signing keys for your validator (each validator holds 32 ETH, or up to 2048 ETH with compounding (0x02) credentials since the Pectra upgrade), and uploading these to your provider to allow them to validate on your behalf. The signing keys alone do not give any ability to withdraw, transfer, or spend your funds. However, they do provide the ability to cast votes towards consensus, which if not done properly can result in offline penalties or slashing.
With custodial services, such as staking through a centralized exchange, the provider holds all keys: the signing keys and the withdrawal credentials. In that case you are trusting the provider with the funds themselves, not just with validator operation.
Yes. Each validator has signing keys and separate withdrawal credentials. In order for a validator to attest to the state of the chain, participate in sync committees and propose blocks, the signing keys must be readily accessible by a validator client. These must be connected to the internet in some form, and are thus inherently considered to be "hot" keys. The keys that control withdrawn funds are kept separate for security reasons.
The withdrawal credentials designate the execution layer address that staking rewards and exited funds go to. Modern deposit tooling lets you set this address at the time of deposit, as either a regular (0x01) or compounding (0x02) credential, and it should be an address you control, ideally secured in cold storage. This protects your funds even if someone else controls your validator signing keys, and since the Pectra upgrade it also lets you exit the validator directly from that address.
Validators set up in the network's early days without an execution withdrawal address use legacy BLS withdrawal keys, and must sign a one-time message declaring a withdrawal address before withdrawals can begin. This involves regenerating the withdrawal keys from the mnemonic seed phrase created at setup.
Make certain you back this seed phrase up safely or you will be unable to generate your withdrawal keys when the time comes.
Check with your provider for support regarding how to prepare your validator.
How withdrawals work depends on your validator's withdrawal credential type. For regular (0x01) validators, any balance over 32 ETH is automatically swept to the withdrawal address on a periodic basis every few days. For compounding (0x02) validators, rewards compound into the validator's balance up to 2048 ETH, and withdrawing below that requires triggering a partial withdrawal from your withdrawal address, which costs gas.
Validators can also fully exit, which unlocks the entire remaining ETH balance. After completing the exit process, the full balance is transferred to the withdrawal address during a subsequent validator sweep.
More on staking withdrawalsIf your withdrawal credentials point to an address you control, you can exit the validator yourself and recover your stake; see Trust model: what to evaluate.
If the provider holds the withdrawal credentials (as with custodial and exchange staking), there is no protocol-level way for you to recover the funds independently; your recourse is limited to the provider's own processes.
By using a delegated staking provider, you are entrusting the operation of your node to someone else. This comes with the risk of poor node performance, which is not in your control. In the event your validator is slashed, an initial penalty proportional to your validator's balance is applied (made significantly smaller in the Pectra upgrade), and your validator is forcibly exited from the validator set.
Upon completion of the slashing/exiting process, the remaining funds are transferred to the withdrawal address assigned to the validator.
Contact individual providers for more details on any guarantees or insurance options. If you'd prefer to be in full control of your validator setup, learn more about how to solo stake your ETH.
Further reading
- What is Staking-as-a-Service? (opens in a new tab) - Figment
- The Ethereum Staking Directory (opens in a new tab) - Eridian and Spacesider
- Evaluating Staking Services (opens in a new tab) - Jim McDonald 2020
- EIP-7002: Execution layer triggerable withdrawals (opens in a new tab) - the specification for exiting a validator from its withdrawal address