# Stake FTM Staking is a vital part of securing the Opera chain through proof-of-stake. Validator nodes must stake FTM, incentivizing them to act honestly in block production as they risk losing their stake otherwise. However, FTM holders can also participate by staking their FTM and delegating it to an existing validator node to earn rewards. Opera offers several staking benefits, including no minimum stake, no mandatory lock-up period, and liquid staking services! ## How to Stake FTM 1. Head to [fWallet](https://wallet.fantom.network/). 2. Click on *Staking* 3. Choose the amount of FTM you would like to stake and then click on *Choose a validator* 4. Click on *Create new delegation* 5. Choose a validator from the list 6. Click *Stake and continue* 7. Choose between the 1.8% base APR with no lock-up period or lock your stake for up to 365 days for an increased APR Once you have staked, you’ll begin to earn rewards actively. 15% of the rewards you earn will be distributed as a fee to the node to which you’ve delegated your stake. To increase your FTM stake amount at any time, you can repeat the process above to create a new delegation. As such, you can create several delegations with multiple lock-up periods. ## Rewards and Compounding The *Rewards* section of the *Staking* page shows the amount of FTM you have earned from staking. You can compound these rewards into your delegations to increase your stake and earn more rewards, or you can claim all rewards to receive the FTM directly in your wallet. ## Unbonding Period Note that there's a seven-day unbonding period when you unstake your FTM. After initiating the unstaking process, you must wait for seven days. Once this period has passed, return to the *Staking* page, navigate to the *Withdraw* tab, and withdraw your FTM to your wallet. Additionally, while it is possible to unstake your FTM before your chosen lock-up period ends, you’ll receive only half of the base rate of 1.8% APR rewards; however, since you receive rewards actively, the penalty will be deducted from your staked FTM as you unstake. For example, you stake and lock 100,000 FTM for one year, giving you a 6% APR, which equals 6,000 FTM in total rewards. Approximately at day 300, you’ll have received almost 5,000 FTM, at which point you decide to unstake before the one-year period ends. Your updated APR is 0.9%, half the base rate. With your 100,000 FTM, your rewards would equal 900 FTM. However, since you’ve already received 5000 FTM, you’ll receive only 95,900 FTM when you unstake to account for the extra 4100 FTM in rewards you forfeit by unstaking early. As such, you will never receive less FTM than you staked originally. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.fantom.foundation/staking/stake-ftm.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.