Fearless offers its wallet in two different versions: Fearless Wallet, which is a browser extension available for Chome-based browsers, and the Fearless app for your phone (available on both Android and iOS). The browser version serves as an ideal companion for accessing dApps within the Polkadot ecosystem, while the mobile app empowers users to leverage Polkadot functionalities such as staking and participation in crowdloans, all from their phone device.


This article guides you through the possibilities of nominating and staking in Polkadot or Kusama from the Fearless mobile app.


ℹ️ GOOD TO KNOW

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

Alternatively, you can join their Telegram channel and receive specialized assistance from the team that developed the wallet.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

How to stake


From the convenience of your phone, you can use the Fearless mobile app to stake assets on different networks.


ℹ️ INFO

The steps below describe how to stake on the Westend testnet, but the process is identical if you want to stake on Polkadot or Kusama.


1. Go to the "Staking" tab. Here, you'll see some of the current parameters and thresholds for the selected network and type of staking.



2. Tap the name of the current network at the top of the screen to select the network on which you want to stake your assets.


Some networks offer two options for staking: staking solo or joining a nomination pool. This article guides you on staking solo, so choose the option without the "Pool" label.



ℹ️ INFO

Joining a nomination pool is an alternative to staking solo for users who can't stake with an amount greater than the minimum required to obtain staking rewards or for those who prefer a more "click and forget" experience.

Learn how to join a nomination pool from Fearless from the article "Fearless: How to Join a Nomination Pool."


3. After selecting the network and type of staking, enter the amount of assets you wish to stake (you can modify this amount later), then tap "Start Staking."



4. When opting to stake solo, you'll have two choices regarding your rewards: "Restake," which stakes your rewards (compounding), or "Payout," directing the rewards to one of your accounts in Fearless.



5. After tapping "Continue" on the previous screen, you'll need to choose your validators, up to 16 in Polkadot or 24 in Kusama. You can refer to the article describing good practices on how to choose yourself the validators, or trust the pre-selected validators provided by Fearless.



6. If you decide to select your validators, you'll be presented with a list to choose from. They will have basic information and average annualized rewards.


ℹ️ INFO

You can modify your selected validators at any time, but always follow the recommended good practices when making your selection:

How Do I Know Which Validators to Choose?



7. Once you are satisfied with the selection of validators, tap "Continue," the screen below will display a summary of the process and some information about staking. Review it carefully and then tap "Confirm."



8. Sign the transaction. That's it. Your account will participate in staking, and you should receive the first staking reward after one or two eras.


ℹ️ GOOD TO KNOW

Visit our Staking FAQ's to learn more about staking.

How to check and manage your staking account


Once your account participates in staking, you might want to update some of the configuration, bond more funds, or just check that everything is going well.  The screenshot below shows how you can access the current status of your nominating account and act upon it if necessary.



Tapping on "Your stake" will bring up a menu with several basic functions:

  • "Staking balance" allows you to increase, decrease, or unstake all of your bonded funds.
  • "Reward destination" enables you to change the account where rewards are sent after each era.
  • "Your validators" provides access to your currently nominated validators, allowing you to change them if desired.
  • "Controller account" updates the stash account to act as its own controller.


Increase, decrease, or unstake your funds


Tapping on "Staking balance" will display a summary of your stake, including the amount of assets staked, unstaked, or redeemable.


Below this summary, you will find three buttons: "Stake more," "Stake less," and "Redeem":

  • "Stake more" allows you to bond additional tokens from your transferable balance.
  • "Stake less" provides the option to unbond a portion of your bonded funds, leaving the remaining assets in staking, or to unbond all funds ("Max"), initiating the unstaking process for your bonded funds.
  • "Redeem": After the unbonding period has ended (28 days in Polkadot and 7 days in Kusama), you must withdraw them to return them to the free balance.



Pending rewards


By entering this section, you can check any pending staking rewards you might have. Rewards are not automatically distributed; instead, any of the nominators for a particular validator for an era must issue an extrinsic to release the funds for themselves and the other nominators. Usually, out of courtesy, the validators themselves release the funds as soon as the era ends. However, it may occasionally take a day or two for the validator to release the funds. During that time, you will be able to see the pending rewards on the screen below, and, as a nominator, you may be able to release them. If you are not in a hurry, it is recommended to let the validator do so.



Reward destination



As the name indicates, the reward destination is where the staking rewards are sent. There are two options for the reward offered by Fearless:

  • "Restake": The rewards are bonded along with the rest of the stake. This option effectively compounds the rewards.
  • "Payout": Rewards are sent as transferable balance to the account of your choice. It can be any account listed in your Fearless mobile app.

Once you have selected your staking reward destination, click "Confirm," and review the changes before confirming them again. 



Modify validators



One of the main responsibilities of a nominator is to keep a healthy list of nominated validators. This means that you should periodically review the status and performance of your validators. For example, if any of them has signaled its intention of not validating or its performance has degraded over time, you should consider removing it from your list and replacing it with an active and more performant validator. Follow the steps below to change your current nominations:


1. Tap "Your validators" in the previous screen.


2. Tap "Change" on the top-right corner.



3. You will have the option to "Update your list" manually or tap "Select recommended" if you want to let Fearless choose the validators for you following their criteria.



4. After tapping "Updater your list," you can add or remove any of them from the list by toggling the check mark next to each validator.



4. Once you are happy with the new selection of validators, tap "Choose" to go to the screen where you can confirm your selection.


Change controller



You can update the controller of your stash account from Fearless by tapping the "Controller account" option. However, since controller accounts are being deprecated in favor of proxy accounts, you can only make your stash account its own controller, meaning that another account will not be able to be a controller.


ℹ️ INFO

Updating the controller of a stash account is only necessary for older accounts that have a separate controller account. New staking accounts already act as their own controller, so no action is required.