Flow (FLOW) Staking Rewards Calculator

What is Flow?

Flow is a newly launched blockchain built to support the next generation of apps, games, and the digital assets that power them. Flow is developed by Dapper Labs, the team who also developed the popular CryptoKitties blockchain game.

Founded by Roham Gharegozlou, Dieter Shirley and Mikhael Naayem, Flow was designed specifically for games and digital collectibles. It allows users to create and trade non-fungible tokens (NFTs). NFTs are the digital equivalent of a trading card - since each NFT is an asset on the Flow blockchain, it allows their uniqueness to be verified. Like other cryptocurrencies, NFTs can be bought, sold, and exchanged over the internet in a decentralized way (without a middleman).

Notable apps that run on the Flow blockchain include NBA Top Shot, Crypto Kitties, and Seussibles.

What sets Flow apart from other crypto networks is its dramatic speed and throughput improvements that are a result of its design which separates the jobs of miners or validators into four different roles. This separation of roles means that participants in the network can run nodes over a wide spectrum of different computational and financial reward levels.

What is Flow staking?

Since Flow operates with a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism, users holding FLOW tokens can earn staking rewards in exchange for using their holdings to secure the blockchain. Staking is the process where a node operator temporarily gives up (or "stakes") their tokens to the network as a promise that they will not modify their node to do something that is against the rules of the FLOW network, like stealing funds from user's accounts. Through this process of staking, the Flow network ties its security to the honesty of the majority who are incentivized as token holders to maintain the integrity and value of the network.

How do I stake my FLOW?

Broadly speaking, there are two different approaches to Flow staking:

1. Run your own node (hard). Advanced users can run their own Flow node, which entails provisioning a machine or virtual machine to run node software, and then keeping your node updated and online. This approach is slightly more profitable but requires you to pay for the hosting for your node, and your time to properly configure the node and maintain it to ensure that it stays online.
2. Delegating (easy). Delegation is where you delegate your staking rights to another node called a "delegator" so that you can participate in staking without having to maintain your own node. The downside is that the delegator takes a small fee for their service, reducing your staking rewards.

There are two general approaches to delegating your FLOW:

• Using a non-custodial wallet like Blocto or Ledger with Flow Port. You can find a complete guide to staking with Flow Port here. With a non-custodial wallet, you have the sole control your private keys which means that you do not have to trust a third party with your keys. The downside to a non-custodial wallet is that you are solely responsible for not losing your keys and keeping them secure. With this approach, you are responsible for choosing a good and reliable Node Operator to stake your tokens with, so choose carefully.
• Using a custodial wallet like Kraken, a crypto exchange. With a custodial wallet, you trust a third party to control your private keys and provide you access to your tokens when you wish to send or trade them. The upside to custodial wallets is that they are typically more convenient and your personal responsibility of safeguarding your private keys is lessened. With this approach, you do not have the ability to choose your Node Operator - you must use the Node Operator of your custodian.