How to Stake Moonriver

This content represents the writer’s opinions and research and is not intended to be taken as financial advice. The information presented is general in nature and may not meet the specific needs of any individual or entity. It is not intended to be relied upon as a professional or financial decision-making tool.

The world of cryptocurrencies is one that’s growing by the minute. New digital coins are being introduced all the time, each promising something different and exciting for potential users. But with so many different options out there, it can be difficult to know where to begin. 

One such option is staking, which is essentially another way of saying ‘earning passive income from your digital currency’. 

Staking Moonriver (MOVR) is possible because it uses a Delegated Proof of stake (dPoS) consensus mechanism that allows users to earn rewards just for holding MOVR assets. 

In this article we will explore what Moonriver staking is and how it works. 

Pros and Cons of Staking Moonriver

When you decide to invest in any type of cryptocurrency, you’ll always have to consider the potential pros and cons. Staking Moonriver comes with a few advantages, but also a few disadvantages you’ll need to keep in mind.

Among the advantages of staking Moonriver we can list: 

What is Moonriver Staking?

When it comes to staking cryptocurrency, it is similar to earning returns on your savings in traditional financial markets.

Staking is not always possible in the crypto space: only blockchains with PoS or derived consensus mechanisms allow it. 

There is no exception to this rule when it comes to Moonriver. Using the Delegated Proof of Stake function which is a feature of the blockchain underpinning this cryptocurrency, users will be able to earn rewards simply by keeping their assets in their wallets – that is, they will not be selling or trading their MOVR cryptocurrency. 

As a result, these users are rewarded because they contribute to avoiding a major threat that could negatively impact distributed and decentralised ledgers – the threat of a network becoming centralised. 

By avoiding the network being threatened by a single point of failure – like it happens with traditional, centralised databases – they secure the network. That’s why they earn a certain amount of MOVR staking rewards, an amount affected by the time they hold their currencies and the amount they decide to stake. 

Let’s delve deeper into the topic of Mooriver stakes in order to gain a better understanding of it.

How to stake Moonriver?

To understand Moonriver staking, we need to analyse the protocols and consensus mechanism used by Moonbeam, the foundation behind Moonriver. 

The cryptocurrency of the network is fully compatible with Ethereum, but some improvements were implemented thanks to the support of Kusama, which works as a sort of pre-production environment for another popular network, Polkadot. 

Thanks to this system, Moonbeam can work as a parachain that works according to the technology used by Polkadot. Basically, Moonbeam can manage only a part of the operations needed to make blockchains work, making the verifications of transactions more efficient. 

But what does all this have to do with Moonriver staking?

As we said, Moonriver uses a delegated proof of stake. This means that users, to stake their tokens, delegate to other actors. This is possible thanks to the Nimbus framework – the framework used by parachains like Moonbeam. 

Those actors delegated by users are called collators. Collators are those in charge of adding new blocks to the blockchain – so, the ones able to offer block reward to stakers. 

This is, in short, the system used by Moonriver to allow staking and the reason why we refer to the consensus mechanism used by the blockchain as a ‘delegated’ proof of stake mechanism. 

In fact, when talking about Moonriver, delegating and staking can be considered as synonyms. Collators with the highest amount staked can join the pool of available candidates – since they’re considered trustworthy. 

Users can delegate collators by using their own MOVR, which will be added to the amount of assets staked by the candidate. 

The final user experience won’t be largely affected by this complex procedure. Stakers can stake MOVR as they would with other PoS tokens or coins. The steps to follow are the same: 

• First off, you need to choose a centralised or decentralised exchange. In the first case, you’ll be able to use the staking service offered by the exchange after creating an account. In the second case, you’ll just need to connect your wallet to the decentralised app you chose. 
• In both cases, you’ll need to buy some MOVR or to transfer them from another account. 
• Once you have enough MOVR, you can choose the amount you want to stake. 
• After this procedure, you can start earning staking rewards. 

We have already stated that there are mainly two factors that affect the amount of rewards that a staker can earn – the amount staked and the amount of time spent staking.

The longer the period for which the assets are staked, the higher the rewards. Similarly, the higher the amount staked, the higher the rewards. 

These are the elements to take into account before considering staking. What makes the process more intuitive is the fact that using Moonriver is very similar to using Ether – a cryptocurrency more popular and familiar to many more crypto users. 

As mentioned, Moonriver is compatible with Ethereum: you can develop smart contracts and dApps using the same programming language used for Ethereum, and you can also use the wallets commonly used for Ethereum. 

In fact, when you choose the decentralised path to hold your Moonriver you can decide to use a popular crypto wallet like Metamask. 

To recap what we covered so far: 

• Moonriver uses a delegated proof of stake mechanism, 
• Users who want to stake MOVR will need to delegate stakers – called collators – able to add new blocks to the blockchain and distribute staking rewards, 
• The user experience is not very different from staking other PoS tokens and coins. 

Moonriver Staking Tax

The taxation of crypto across the globe continues to be a grey area, as you will notice if you take a closer look at the topic. 

Some countries choose to take a severe approach towards cryptocurrencies, others still haven’t a clear framework for what concerns crypto taxation, others can be considered more crypto-friendly. 

The UK seems to lie somewhere between these approaches, but the taxation in this country tends to follow the majority of governments. 

Despite this, many are the doubts of traders and investors when it comes to handling taxes concerning crypto assets. 

We should take into account that taxation for blockchain-based tokens and coins is not a totally new framework that adapts to this particular market, but it heavily inherits from taxation rules related to traditional financial assets.

Generally speaking, crypto assets are treated as capital gains or income taxes. As it happens when earning returns on stocks, those returns are taxed also when it comes to cryptos – the only difference is that crypto gains need to be converted to GBP taking into account the exchange rate at the moment when those returns were earned.

This type of taxation works also for Moonriver staking rewards, but there is a subtle exception – what makes the difference is withdrawal. 

If you withdraw your earnings, the taxation will work as we’ve just described. If you just hold your tokens, they’re not subject to taxation. 

In any case, you should always consult a tax accountant to understand how to deal with crypto assets taxes – also because the crypto space tends to evolve rapidly, as well as the regulatory frameworks that should regulate it. 

Why do people like staking Moonriver?

Staking has become more popular among crypto users, and projects like Moonriver attracts many crypto enthusiasts because it solves major issues – like costly and low transactions, sometimes affecting more popular networks – while giving investors easy-to-use solutions. 

Moonriver in particular is an exciting project that constantly evolves, and even if it is managed thanks to a complex process, which uses several protocols, it is able to look intuitive for the final user. 

Moreover, staking Moonriver is a low risky activity when compared to other activities like trading: it doesn’t require you to have relevant tech skills, but it still allows people to earn streams of crypto passive income seamlessly. 
Another important point is that Moonriver has a small total supply – set at 10,553,928 MOVR – and this may favour a price increase over time by protecting the value of the crypto.

Conclusion

Moonriver defines itself as a project that allows Solidity smart contracts on Kusama. In these few words we can find many of the characteristics of the network: 

• It benefits from the advantages of different  protocols, 
• It is fully compatible with Ethereum, giving you the opportunity to use all the tools used to make transactions with Ether and develop smart contracts and dApps. 

The process to stake Moonriver is technically complex, working thanks to a delegated proof of stake that requires the participation of collators. But the final user won’t perceive this difficulty and the only difference between staking Moonriver and staking PoS cryptos consists in the fact that you directly have to choose the collator when you stake in a decentralised environment. 

As any other project, Moonriver has advantages but also disadvantages – like the minimum amount required for staking – but, in general, people seem to appreciate the staking process for being straightforward and relatively low risk. 

Moonriver Staking FAQ’s