Staking to a Session Node

Learn how to stake to Session Nodes (without needing to run your own node).

Session Nodes can be run by a single contributor, or by multiple contributors who pool their SESH to meet the staking requirement of 25,000. This guide covers how to stake to a multicontributor node which is awaiting contribution.

If you wish instead to register a node, you can find out how to do that here.

Step 1:

Navigate to the Staking Portal and connect your wallet. If you wish to stake your vesting SESH tokens, please ensure that Vesting Mode is switched on.

Step 2:

Navigate to the Stake Now page to view the list of nodes awaiting contribution (Available Session Nodes)

The listed nodes will show the minimum and maximum contribution amounts, as well as the operator fee.

Step 3:

Once you have selected a node to stake to, hit View to examine the node details.

From this menu you can enter the amount of SESH you wish to stake, and then hit the green 'Stake' button.

Step 4:

Your stake will be contributed to the node and once the total amount staked has reached 25,000 it will be registered on the network. After 24 hours of the node being registered and active on the network, you will begin earning rewards.

Note: To view rewards earned from staking vesting SESH, you'll need to first turn off Vesting Mode. Your rewards will be visible together with any rewards earned from non-vesting staked SESH on your My Stakes page.

About the Multicontributor Operator Fee

Operators can set an operator fee on their multicontributor nodes, which is collected in SESH. This fee helps operators to cover the costs of running a node. The fee is taken as a percentage of the node rewards allocated to the operator. Once the fee is deducted, the remaining rewards are distributed among all contributors (including the operator), proportional to stake amount.

For example: If a node earns 1000 Session Tokens and the operator sets a 10% fee, the operator keeps 100 tokens as their fee, and the remaining 900 tokens are split based on stake amounts—so, if the operator staked 50%, they’d get 450 tokens (550 in total), and two contributors with 25% stakes each would get 225 tokens each.

Unlocking your stake

If you're contributing a stake to a node, you can request to unlock your stake under certain conditions. Small contributors (those contributing less than 1/4 of a full stake, or 6250 SESH) cannot initiate a unlock during the first 30 days a node operates, but can do so at any time after this initial 30-day period. The unlock period is 15 days, after which the stake can be reclaimed. Large contributors (those contributing 1/4 of a full stake or more than 6250 SESH) can initiate an unlock at any time, including within the first 30 days of a node’s operation. As above, the unlock period is 15 days, after which the stake can be reclaimed.