PolkaGate is a Polkadot wallet developed and maintained by PolkaGate Foundation. It is an open-source browser extension available for Mozilla Firefox and Chromium-based browsers, funded by the Kusama Treasury. PolkaGate is compatible with many DApps and tools in the ecosystem.


ℹ️ GOOD TO KNOW

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

Alternatively, you can contact the PolkaGate team directly and receive specialised assistance from the team that developed the wallet. You can contact PolkaGate support on Element or at polkagate@outlook.com


In this article, we'll show how to stake your DOT or another supported token in PolkaGate.


‼️ 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

Staking DOT in PolkaGate


How to start staking


1. Click on the PolkaGate icon next to your URL bar. If you've set a login password, you'll need to enter it and unlock the wallet first:



2. Click on your account in the extension. Make sure you have the right network and token selected. In this guide, it's KSM on Kusama, but the steps are the same for DOT on Polkadot. Then, click "Stake" at the bottom:



3. If you want to stake solo, ensure you have enough funds to be above the dynamic minimum required to earn staking rewards. Click "Enter" under "Solo staking":



4. You will see detailed information about the staking in this account. Click the "Stake" button at the bottom (it jiggles!):



5. Enter the amount you want to stake and choose if you want to select your validators yourself or let PolkaGate decide:



⚠️ 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.


Click "Advanced settings" to choose if you want your staking rewards to be added to your stake or be sent as a transferable balance to one of your accounts:



6. Click "Next." If you've chosen a manual selection of validators, you can choose them now. You can nominate up to 16 validators on Polkadot and up to 24 validators on Kusama. If you don't know what validators to choose, check this article. You can also let PolkaGate choose your validators for you by marking "System Suggestions," which will select trusted, high return, low commission validators according to PolkaGate:



You can search validators and filter them by several criteria:



7. Click "Next". Review the details and sign the transaction to start staking on Kusama:

 


You should start actively nominating in the next era and receive your first reward in the era after that.

How to add more DOT to your stake


1. Click on the PolkaGate icon next to your URL bar. If you've set a login password, you'll need to enter it and unlock the wallet first:



2. Click on your account in the extension. Make sure you have the right network and token selected. In this guide, it's KSM on Kusama, but the steps are the same for DOT on Polkadot. Next, click the arrow next to "Solo stake": 



3. You will see detailed information about the staking in this account. Click the "Stake" button at the bottom:



4. Enter the amount you want to add to your stake:



Remember not to bond all your funds; you will need a transferable balance to pay transaction fees.


5. Click "Next". Review the details and sign the transaction to bond more to your stake.

How to change your nominations


1. Click on the PolkaGate icon next to your URL bar. If you've set a login password, you'll need to enter it and unlock the wallet first:



2. Click on your account in the extension. Make sure you have the right network and token selected. In this guide, it's KSM on Kusama, but the steps are the same for DOT on Polkadot. Next, click the arrow next to "Solo stake": 



3. You will see detailed information about the staking in this account. Click the "Validators" button at the bottom:



4. You will see a list of validators you currently nominate. Click "Change validators" at the bottom to change your nominations:



5. Click on the validators you'd like to nominate. You can nominate up to 16 validators on Polkadot and up to 24 validators on Kusama. If you don't know what validators to choose, check this article. You can also let PolkaGate choose your validators for you by marking "System Suggestions," which will select trusted, high return, low commission validators according to PolkaGate:



You can search validators and filter them by several criteria:



6. Click "Next". Review the details and sign the transaction to change your nominations. Your new nominations will be applied in the next era.

How to change your staking rewards destination


1. Click on the PolkaGate icon next to your URL bar. If you've set a login password, you'll need to enter it and unlock the wallet first:



2. Click on your account in the extension. Make sure you have the right network and token selected. In this guide, it's KSM on Kusama, but the steps are the same for DOT on Polkadot. Next, click the arrow next to "Solo stake": 



3. You will see detailed information about the staking in this account. Click the "Setting" button at the bottom:



4. You can choose between adding your staking rewards to your stake or receiving them as a transferable balance. If you choose the latter, you can paste any account address here or choose one of your accounts in PolkaGate:



5. Click "Next". Review the details and sign the transaction to change your reward destination.

How to unbond your DOT


1. Click on the PolkaGate icon next to your URL bar. If you've set a login password, you'll need to enter it and unlock the wallet first:


 

2. Click on your account in the extension. Make sure you have the right network and token selected. In this guide, it's KSM on Kusama, but the steps are the same for DOT on Polkadot. Next, click the arrow next to "Solo stake": 



3. You will see detailed information about the staking in this account. You have these options to unlock your bonded funds:



ℹ️ GOOD TO KNOW

Some accounts can unlock bonded funds without waiting. Click "Fast unstake" if you had no active nominations in the past 28 eras. PolkaGate will check if your account is eligible for fast unstake before allowing you to proceed.

Fast unstake is incompatible with the regular unbonding process we describe below. It also requires you to make a small deposit beforehand. This deposit will be returned after your funds are fast-unstaked.

You can read more about fast unstake here.


4. Click "Unstake" and enter the amount you want to unbond. You can unbond either all your stake or a part of it. If you want to unstake only some of your funds, make sure that you leave more than the dynamic minimum needed to earn rewards:



5. Review and sign the transaction. This step will start the unbonding period of 28 eras (28 days on Polkadot and 7 days on Kusama).


6. Once the unbonding period is over, open PolkaGate and navigate to the "Solo staking" screen again. You will see your unbonded amount as "Redeemable." Click "Withdraw":



7. Review and sign the transaction to unlock your tokens.

How to rebond your DOT


During the unbonding period, you can change your mind and rebond your unbonding tokens.


1. Click on the PolkaGate icon next to your URL bar. If you've set a login password, you'll need to enter it and unlock the wallet first:


 

2. Click on your account in the extension. Make sure you have the right network and token selected. In this guide, it's KSM on Kusama, but the steps are the same for DOT on Polkadot. Next, click the arrow next to "Solo stake": 



3. You will see detailed information about the staking in this account. Click "Restake" next to your unbonding funds:



4. Enter the amount you want to rebond. You can rebond all of your unbonding funds or only some of them:



5. Review and sign the transaction to add these funds back to your stake.

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. Click on the PolkaGate icon next to your URL bar. If you've set a login password, you'll need to enter it and unlock the wallet first:


 

2. Click on your account in the extension. Make sure you have the right network and token selected. In this guide, it's KSM on Kusama, but the steps are the same for DOT on Polkadot. Next, click the arrow next to "Solo stake": 



3. You will see detailed information about the staking in this account. Next to your paid rewards, click "Pending":



4. If you have any rewards that you have earned, but haven't received yet, they will appear on the list. Select the rewards you want to be paid out and click "Next".


5. Review the transaction fee you will pay and other details of the transaction. Sign the transaction to make the payout.

Check the video below, where the PolkaGate team shows how to stake "solo" from the wallet: