❓FAQs

How is staking different from farming?

Staking involves locking cryptocurrency in a smart contract for a set amount of time in exchange for rewards. During that period, the tokens won't be accessible to the user. It is generally safer and the returns tend to be lower.

Farming involves lending or staking crypto holdings in DeFi protocols to supply liquidity. The tokens must be deposited into a liquidity pool, and depositors receive LP tokens, representing their share of the pool. They can earn additional tokens by participating in DeFi activities such as lending, borrowing, or trading.

You can also consult the farming documentation.

What is harvesting?

Harvesting refers to the act of claiming your staking rewards. When you claim your rewards, they are automatically transferred to your wallet.

Can I only collect a portion of my rewards?

No. If your staking period has ended, all the rewards and APower you have accrued, as well as the $ALEX you've staked, will be transferred to your wallet. You will be able to re-stake them on the next cycle, after the current one ends. If a cycle has ended but you've staked your $ALEX for longer, you will be able to claim your rewards but not your staked ALEX tokens, which will remain locked-up until the staking period you selected expires. If you wish to avoid cooldown periods and manual staking, you can use the Auto Staking function with LiALEX.

Do staking rewards accumulate?

Yes, staking rewards accumulate over time. It is not mandatory to harvest your rewards at the end of each cycle, you can claim them whenever you choose. Also, when you withdraw (unstake) your $ALEX or LiALEX, any unharvested rewards will automatically be withdrawn as well.

Can I claim my rewards after every cycle?

Yes, rewards can be claimed after every cycle concludes, even if you've staked your $ALEX for several cycles. Bear in mind that, although you can claim rewards, your staked tokens can only be withdrawn after the selected cycles expire.

What is the cooldown period?

The cooldown period refers to the time between when your ALEX tokens are staked and when a new cycle begins. Essentially, it is the remaining time (measured in Stacks blocks) of the current staking cycle. This implies that your staked tokens won't start generating rewards immediately, but in the next upcoming cycle.

For example, if you staked your $ALEX for 32 cycles, you won't receive any rewards for the 33rd cycle. Afterwards, you will be able to earn rewards again if you choose to re-stake your tokens. For more details, check the Cycles and Cooldown Period section of the Key concepts page.

Why is it more convenient to stake for longer periods?

Because of the cooldown period. If you plan to stake for multiple cycles, it is more efficient to stake for the entire period upfront rather than withdrawing and restaking repeatedly.

Lets suppose you want to stake for 12 cycles and choose to stake thrice for 4-cycle periods, you will miss out on rewards for 3 cycles. This happens because each time you withdraw and restake, you enter a cooldown period. In contrast, if you stake directly for the full 12 cycles, you will only miss rewards for 1 cycle, the very first one.

The more cycles you choose to stake for, the less cool-down cycles you will have in the middle. To avoid cool-down cycles altogether, you may use Liquid Staking with LiALEX.

I just staked $ALEX, when will I see my investment?

The transaction may take up to 40 minutes to become visible in the "My Staking" menu. You can consult the Staking Guide for more information on verifying your staking status.

What is APower?

ALEX Staking Power, or APower, is a special incentive awarded only to $ALEX stakers and yield farmers. APower is a non-transferrable and non-tradable token, that provides special access to future IDOs on the ALEX Launchpad. There are two ways to earn APower through staking on the ALEX platform, either by:

1. Stake $ALEX (1x Multiplier)

2. Stake LP tokens through Yield Farming (0.3x Multiplier)

There is no maximum amount of APower an address can earn over a period of time. If you are interested in frequently participating in IDOs, staking $ALEX would generate APower the fastest.

What is LiALEX?

LiALEX is the transferable utility token that allows you to maintain liquidity while staking your $ALEX. When you stake $ALEX through LISA, you mint LiALEX that allow you to participate in other DeFi activities, such as requesting stablecoin loans or investing them in farming pools. For more information, refer to the LISA Documentation