The concept of 'staking' in crypto is quite popular. This feature enables users to 'lock up' a portion of their coins and earn a percentage-based reward in return. By locking up (staking) their coins, these users are allowed to verify transactions and add new blocks on the blockchain.

In exchange for their contributions, these users are rewarded with newly minted coins. The rewards they receive are in proportion to the amount they have staked. It is a fantastic way of generating passive income without selling any of your coins. However, this feature is only available on proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchains.

Recently, three popular cryptocurrencies — Chainlink, ApeCoin and Nexo — have opened up staking to their users. Tag along as we tell you more about these blockchains and how they have fared after the launch of their staking protocols.

Chainlink (LINK)

Chainlink, the popular blockchain oracle network, launched its much-awaited Staking v0.1 on December 6, 2022. This upgrade is a vital component of 'Chainlink Economics 2.0', which is dedicated to the security and sustainability of the platform.

With the launch of this feature, users will be able to stake Chainlink's native token, LINK, and earn staking rewards while enhancing the platform's overall security. However, if users fail to abide by the on-chain service-level agreement (SLA), then a portion of their staked LINK will be confiscated and redistributed amongst other stakers.

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The feature will allow Chainlink to develop a more secure ecosystem by enabling the nodes to receive incentives for enhancing the data efficiency and integrity of the oracle network. In exchange, they receive 4.75 percent of annual rewards for supporting the network’s performance.

LINK witnessing some serious gains after the Staking launch

Chainlink opened its Staking Pool on December 8, letting holders stake up to 7,000 LINK per address, worth around $53,000. Since then, LINK has witnessed a massive staking spree of around 24.27 million LINK tokens, worth $170 million.

The total cap on LINK staking was set to 25 million, out of which the community pool limit of 22.5 million is already reached. Therefore, the staking limit for general audiences has already been completed. Now, the remaining 700,000 tokens need to be filled by the node operators.

Overall, LINK has suffered major losses this year. LINK has plummeted from $28 at the start of the year to $6.99 at the time of writing. However, the launch of the staking feature has given it a slight hope, with the enthusiasts responding well to the project. At the time of writing, LINK was up 1.76 percent over the last 24 hours, with a 1.2 percent gain for the month.

ApeCoin (APE)

ApeCoin (APE) is the governance token of the Ape Ecosystem. Holders of this ERC-20 token can vote on improvement proposals and receive exclusive access to upcoming NFT launches, games and other events within the Ape ecosystem.

On December 6, the Ape Foundation took to Twitter to announce the launch of its much-awaited staking feature for ApeCoin. Under this new feature, users can stake their ApeCoins or BAYC/MAYC NFTs on ApeStake.io.

The platform has also set aside 175 million ApeCoins, which equates to 17.5 percent of the token's total supply, as staking rewards. These coins will be distributed to stakers across the next three years. However, users will only begin receiving staking rewards after December 12.

After the staking feature was launched, the project witnessed deposits of nearly $32 million worth of tokens in just one day. The launch of its staking protocol also caused the price valuation of APE to spike 6 percent, going from $3.8 on December 4 to $4.2 on December 6. However, APE returned most of these gains over the next few days and is currently trading at $3.96.

ApeCoin has rallied almost 50 percent from its yearly lows since mid-November. Although this is a great sign of recovery amidst the reeling market conditions, what is surprising is that the staking feature has not shown any distinct, long-lasting effect on the APE price or its partner NFTs, i.e., the BAYC (Bored Ape Yacht Club) or MAYC (Mutant Ape Yacht Club) NFTs.

Nexo (NEXO)

Another project to launch its own staking protocol this month is Nexo (NEXO). The NEXO coin, which ranks 80 on the list of top 100 cryptocurrencies, launched its Ethereum Smart Staking feature on December 7, 2022.

According to the project's developers, this feature will enable holders to swap their ETH in exchange for NETH, or Nexo Staked ETH. Users can then stake their NETH and receive 4 to 12 percent APY as staking rewards.

The launch of its staking feature resulted in a 5 percent spike in the token's valuations. However, Nexo's staking update comes just days after the platform was forced to withdraw operations in eight American states after facing trouble with regulators in the US. This has sent NEXO tumbling from $1 at the start of November to $0.662 at the time of writing.

Conclusion

The collapse of FTX has left a crater in the crypto space. It has caused crypto prices to plummet and also resulted in massive investor FUD. As a result, even the most exciting projects are having a hard time finding a strong footing in such a depressing market.

However, the support that LINK and ApeCoin have witnessed has shown that there are still individuals who believe in the power of crypto and are showing support for these projects. Once the market recovers, we may witness another strong bull run, which may result in better gains for these promising projects.

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