Nova Wallet is a Polkadot wallet developed and maintained by Novasama Technologies. It is an open-source mobile app available for iOS and Android,funded by the Polkadot Treasury. Nova Wallet is compatible with many dApps and wallets in the ecosystem.

ℹ️ GOOD TO KNOW

If you have any questions about Nova Wallet, or run into any issues and require further assistance, feel free to ask our AI chatbot or contact us.

Alternatively, you can also read Nova's documentation or contact their team directly and receive speciliazed assistance from the team that developed the wallet.

You can contact Nova support on Telegram.


This article will guide you through the process of staking (nominating) in Nova Wallet. In this article, we will show the Android version of the app, but the differences are minimal.


‼️ IMPORTANT

There is a dynamic minimum amount required to earn rewards. If you don't have enough DOT to stake solo, consider joining a nomination pool instead.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

How to start staking DOT


1. Open the Nova Wallet app, navigate to the Staking tab at the bottom of the screen, and choose the network. In this guide, we choose Kusama, but the steps are the same for Polkadot:



2. Tap "Start Staking" and enter the amount you want to stake:



⚠️ ATTENTION

Do not bond all your funds! You need some transferable funds to be able to pay transaction fees. Otherwise, you may not be able to change your nominations, unbond, or issue any other extrinsic until you have more transferable funds in your account.


3. Depending on the amount you want to stake, Nova Wallet will recommend either direct staking or through a nomination pool. Tap on the recommendation to choose your validators and switch to direct staking if needed:



4. By default, a maximum number of validators is selected based on Nova's recommendations. On Polkadot, you can select up to 16 validators, and up to 24 ones on Kusama. Tap on "Validators" to select your nominations manually:



5. For each validator, you can see its name and estimated APY. Tap the information icon next to a validator to view its status, number of nominators, stake, and on-chain identity. Tap the sort icon in the top right corner to sort and filter validators on your criteria:



You can select some validators manually and let Nova recommend the rest of them. If you don't know which validators to choose, check this article.


6. Once you choose your validators, tap "Continue" to see the transaction details and confirm. You are all set! You should see your first active validator in the next era, and receive your first staking reward after it ends.

How to add more DOT to your stake


1. Open the Nova Wallet app, navigate to the Staking tab at the bottom of the screen, and choose the network. In this guide, we choose Kusama, but the steps are the same for Polkadot:



2. Tap "Stake more" and enter the amount you want to add to your stake:



⚠️ ATTENTION

Do not bond all your funds! You need some transferable funds to be able to pay transaction fees. Otherwise, you may not be able to change your nominations, unbond, or issue any other extrinsic until you have more transferable funds in your account.


3. Tap "Continue" to see the transaction details and confirm.

How to change your nominations


1. Open the Nova Wallet app, navigate to the Staking tab at the bottom of the screen, and choose the network. In this guide, we choose Kusama, but the steps are the same for Polkadot:



2. Tap "Your validators" to view your current nominations:



3. You will see a list of the validators you currently nominate. Tap "Change" in the top right corner to change them:



4. You can select your validators manually or let Nova Wallet recommend validators to you:



5. On Polkadot, you can select up to 16 validators, and up to 24 ones on Kusama.


For each validator, you can see its name and estimated APY. Tap the information icon next to a validator to view its status, number of nominators, stake, and on-chain identity. Tap the sort icon in the top right corner to sort and filter validators on your criteria:



If you choose to select by yourself, you can select some validators manually and let Nova recommend the rest of them. If you don't know which validators to choose, check this article.


5. Tap "Continue" to see the transaction details and confirm. Your new nominations will be applied in the next era.

How to change your staking rewards destination


1. Open the Nova Wallet app, navigate to the Staking tab at the bottom of the screen, and choose the network. In this guide, we choose Kusama, but the steps are the same for Polkadot:



2. Tap "Rewards destination" to change where your staking rewards are sent:



3. You can choose to rebond them, auto-compounding your stake, or send them as a transferable balance to any of your accounts:



4. Tap "Continue" to see the transaction details and confirm. Your new destination will be applied to the next rewards you earn.

How to unbond your DOT


Follow these steps to unbond some or all of your tokens. Please note that you are not earning staking rewards with the unbonding amounts. The unbonding period is 28 days on Polkadot and 7 days on Kusama.


ℹ️ GOOD TO KNOW

Is your account eligible for fast unstake? In some cases, you can unlock your tokens in just a few minutes instead of the usual unbonding period. Connect your account to the Staking Dashboard to check and fast-unstake if you are eligible.


1. Open the Nova Wallet app, navigate to the Staking tab at the bottom of the screen, and choose the network. In this guide, we choose Kusama, but the steps are the same for Polkadot:



2. Tap "Unstake" and enter the amount you want to unbond:



If you want to unbond all of your tokens, you will also stop nominating:



3. Tap "Continue" to see the transaction details and confirm. It will start your unbonding period: 28 days on Polkadot or 7 days on Kusama. During this period, you can cancel the unbonding and rebond some or all your tokens.


4. After the unbonding period ends, go to the Staking tab again and choose the network. You will see your unstaking tokens here. If your unbonding period is already over, the "Redeem" button will be active for you:



5. Tap the "Redeem" button, then tap "Continue" to see the transaction details and confirm. After that, your tokens become transferable again!

How to rebond your DOT


You can rebond some or all of your unbonding tokens if your unbonding period is not over yet.


1. Open the Nova Wallet app, navigate to the Staking tab at the bottom of the screen, and choose the network. In this guide, we choose Kusama, but the steps are the same for Polkadot:


2. You will see your unstaking tokens here. Tap "Cancel":



3. Choose what you want to rebond: all of the tokens that are currently unbonding, only the latest amount set to unbond (you can have several unbondings going on at the same time), or a custom amount:



If you choose a custom amount, enter it and tap "Continue".


4. Review the transaction details and confirm. Your unbonding tokens will be returned to staking. If you were unbonding all of them, you would need to choose your nominations again.

How to claim staking rewards manually


Your staking rewards are calculated after each era, and anyone can start a payout. Usually, validators do it for all their nominators as part of their services within a day or two. However, you can do it yourself (and pay a transaction fee for it) if you are in a hurry or your rewards will expire soon.


1. Open the Nova Wallet app, navigate to the Staking tab at the bottom of the screen, and choose the network. In this guide, we choose Kusama, but the steps are the same for Polkadot:



2. If you have pending rewards, you will see the "Unpaid rewards" option. Tap on it:



3. You will see the unpaid rewards you have:



4. Tap "Pay out all" and review the transaction fee you will pay for this transaction. If you agree to pay it, tap "Confirm" to make the transaction.