> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.ascend.market/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Staking Guide

> Stake $ASCEND without giving up custody and earn 100% of protocol revenue.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/acme-58ae63bf/d72EPE_r0AjEFkOR/images/ascend-liquid-staking-umber.vercel.app_.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=d72EPE_r0AjEFkOR&q=85&s=9e4d82a7a1ce1be6d2dda57b0e91bb4d" alt="Ascend Liquid Staking" width="2592" height="1648" data-path="images/ascend-liquid-staking-umber.vercel.app_.png" />
</Frame>

Ascend uses **liquid staking**. Your \$ASCEND stays in your Cardano wallet the whole time, and **100% of the fees the protocol collects** are paid out to stakers.

Your tokens are never locked in a contract or swapped for a receipt token, you don't delegate them to a validator, and there's no waiting period when you want out. Stake or unstake whenever you like, and the change takes effect as soon as your transaction confirms.

***

## How Staking Works

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/acme-58ae63bf/d72EPE_r0AjEFkOR/images/ascend-liquid-staking-umber.vercel.app_stake.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=d72EPE_r0AjEFkOR&q=85&s=8eb9a8e967cde7ee0725ce01b9162739" alt="Ascend Staking Dashboard" width="2798" height="1648" data-path="images/ascend-liquid-staking-umber.vercel.app_stake.png" />
</Frame>

<Steps>
  <Step title="Connect your Cardano wallet">
    Open the staking page and connect any Cardano wallet that holds \$ASCEND. The first time you connect, your address is registered with the protocol so it can track your stake.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Sign a staking transaction">
    Choose how much \$ASCEND to stake and approve the transaction. You're signing a small on-chain transaction with metadata describing your action: the asset, the amount, your address, and a one-time identifier so it can't be replayed.

    The signed transaction has to confirm within 10 minutes or it expires. Your tokens never move. The transaction is just a signed authorization.
  </Step>

  <Step title="The protocol verifies on-chain">
    Once the transaction is in a block, the protocol reads it to confirm:

    * It was signed by the wallet claiming to stake (one of the inputs has to come from your address)
    * The metadata is well-formed and references \$ASCEND
    * The one-time identifier hasn't been used before

    Only then is your stake recorded.
  </Step>

  <Step title="You're earning, and you can exit anytime">
    Your wallet is marked as staked, and any further stakes add to your position instead of replacing it. Unstaking is the same flow in reverse: sign a transaction declaring the amount, wait for it to confirm, done.
  </Step>
</Steps>

***

## How Your Balance Stays in Sync

Because tokens never leave your wallet, the protocol checks twice a day, at **00:00 UTC and 12:00 UTC**, that staked wallets still hold what they claim:

* If your balance is equal to or greater than your staked amount, nothing changes.
* If it's dropped below, your stake is reduced to whatever you currently hold.
* If it's zero, the wallet is marked fully unstaked.

Rewards are always calculated against what you actually hold.