We’ve updated our Stacking feature through OKCoin Earn to align with the Stacks protocol. Moving forward, you will be able to pick how many cycles you want to Stack for upfront. Based on feedback from our customers and the community, customers will be able to select either 1 or 12 Stacking cycles. Once the Stacking duration — the number of cycles you’ve committed to — has been selected, you will need to fully wait out the selected period until your STX is redeemed. At the end of the Stacking duration, you STX will automatically be redeemed; however because the redemption period is after the open window to deposit STX into the next cycle, you will automatically miss the immediate following Stacking period. For more details on why we updated our Stacking process, please refer to our OKCoin Earn STX Stacking update blog post.
We’ve seen growing popularity and excitement in Stacking STX through our Earn product. The purpose of this blog is to catch you up on everything you need to know about Stacking STX through our Earn product. Below, we will explain exactly what Stacking is, how it works on OKCoin, and all the timing details you need to start depositing your STX and earning anywhere from 10% to 25% APY in BTC.
Table of contents
- When can I deposit STX to earn BTC?
- Can I Stack my STX for multiple cycles?
- What if I previously deposited STX on Earn?
- When do I get my BTC rewards?
- When can I withdraw my deposited STX from Earn?
- Step-by-step guide on how to Stack STX on OKCoin
Stacking FAQs
When can I deposit STX into OKCoin Earn?
The Stacking process and distribution of BTC rewards happens in cycles, which are approximately two weeks long. The cycle length is determined by block confirmations — each cycle is 2000 Bitcoin blocks. With the current average block confirmation time of ~10 minutes on the Bitcoin blockchain, 2000 blocks usually translates into roughly two weeks. You can check exactly how many blocks are left before the next Stacking cycle here.
Stacking schedule
Below you can find the estimated schedule for the current and upcoming Stacking cycle, depending on block confirmation time.
| Cycle | Deposit STX by | Start | End | BTC distribution starts | Avg. APY |
| 1st | Jan 26 | Jan 28 | Feb 10 | Jan 28 | 27% |
| 2nd | Feb 9 | Feb 11 | Feb 25 | Feb 11 | 29.74% |
| 3rd | Feb 24 | Feb 26 | Mar 12 | Feb 26 | 28% |
| 4th | Mar 11 | Mar 13 | Mar 27 | Mar 12 | 24% |
| 5th | Mar 26 | Mar 28 | Apr 12 | Mar 28 | 14.62% |
In order to earn rewards in a Stacking cycle, customers need to deposit their STX on Earn before the new cycle begins. In order to leave time for us to process deposits, OKCoin cuts off deposits for the upcoming cycle two days before the new cycle starts. For example, to earn BTC in the third Stacking cycle, which starts on Feb 26, you’ll have until Feb 24 to deposit STX.
To see the exact time limit for depositing your STX on OKCoin Eаrn, check the live countdown at the top of the page.
Deposit STX before the countdown on the Earn page ends to earn BTC rewards in the next Stacking cycle. Note: The distributed APY, taken from the Stacks protocol, varies with each cycle based on demand.
Can I Stack my STX for multiple cycles?
OKCoin has adopted a similar Stacking policy to the Stacks protocol which asks users to choose a Stacking duration upfront. Once you’ve selected your Stacking duration, your STX earns rewards over that entire duration. OKCoin customers will be asked to select a Stacking duration of either 1 or 12 cycles prior to committing their STX.
What if I previously deposited STX on Earn?
In order to upgrade the Stacking process and add in duration selection on OKCoin Earn, we temporarily paused Stacking on Earn for the duration of the 4th cycle (March 12 – 26, 2021). For users who previously had Stacked STX via our Earn product, or who had deposited STX to opt into the 4th cycle, all of your deposited STX was automatically redeemed and transferred to your OKCoin Funding Account .
When do I get my BTC rewards?
OKCoin aggregates all BTC rewards from Stacking STX and pays them out to users proportionally around 8:00 pm PST daily. BTC rewards are automatically deposited directly to the participant’s OKCoin funding account and are available to trade or withdraw immediately.
If the very first block of a new cycle starts before 8:00 pm PST, then customers Stacking via Earn will receive the first rewards of that cycle that same day. Otherwise, they will start receiving rewards starting the following day.
Please note: reward distribution, as determined by the Stacks protocol, is front-loaded towards the beginning of each cycle. This means there may be a few days towards the end of each cycle when customers won’t see any new BTC rewards in their accounts.
For more information on how reward distribution works on Stacks, check out the team’s analysis of the protocol’s first BTC rewards cycle.
Can I withdraw my STX prior to the completion of the Stacking duration?
Once you deposit STX on Earn, your STX will be locked for either 1 or 12 Stacking cycles, whichever you committed to when depositing STX. Your STX will be automatically returned to your account once the Stacking duration ends. Because your STX is redeemed after the deposit window for the next Stacking cycle closes, you will miss the immediate following cycle. For example, if you commit your STX to cycle 1 and select a Stacking duration of 1 cycle, then your fund will be automatically redeemed at the end of cycle 1, missing the opportunity to deposit the redeemed STX in cycle 2.
How to Stack STX on OKCoin — step-by-step guide
Step 1: Go to OKCoin Earn
Navigate to the Earn page on OKCoin. You’ll see the option to Stack STX at the very top of the screen.
You’ll see that the APY shown above is 25%, which was the average return at the time of this blog post (March 2021). This is an estimate calculated based on previous cycles. The distributed APY, taken from the Stacks protocol, varies with each cycle based on demand.
Step 2: Deposit or buy STX
Now that you’re on the Earn page, click on the Deposit button for “Earn BTC” offering at the top of the page to deposit STX into Earn. If you already own STX on OKCoin, you can follow the prompts to deposit your STX on Earn to start Stacking.
If you own STX, but not on OKCoin, you’ll need to deposit it into your OKCoin account to start. To do this, click on Assets in the upper right-hand corner and select Deposit. Select STX as your currency to deposit.
Once you’ve selected STX as your currency, you’ll need to copy the STX wallet address and the provided memo from OKCoin. (IMPORTANT) Both the wallet address and memo are required to complete your deposit successfully into your OKCoin account. The STX wallet address shown is OKCoin’s Stack’s standard Stacks token address, while the provided memo is unique to your individual account.
If you don’t yet have any STX, just click Deposit → Buy STX from the Earn page to purchase STX on OKCoin, as shown below.
Step 3: Deposit STX into Earn and commit to Stacking duration
Once you have STX, you can continue the process to deposit your STX on Earn. When depositing, you will enter the total amount of STX you’d like to Stack and commit to a cycle duration. We currently offer two cycle durations: 1 cycle (estimated 2 weeks) and 12 cycles (estimated 6 months). These choice are based on customer and community feedback.
Once your assets have been successfully deposited on Earn, you’ll receive a deposit confirmation message on your screen.
Once you’ve deposited STX on OKCoin Earn to start Stacking and earning BTC, you can check the status of your deposit. You’ll see the exact date when your deposited STX will start earning rewards.
When you deposit STX on Earn, your deposit will be pending and will only start earning BTC once the new cycle begins.
Step 4: Sit back and earn BTC
Once the cycle starts, you’ll see your status change to “Earning.” That means your deposited STX is now earning BTC, which will be deposited into your account on a daily basis, when rewards are available.
Once your STX is actively earning BTC in a cycle, you’ll see your status change to “Earning”
Step 5: Completion of Stacking duration
Once you’ve chosen to Stack your STX for 1 or 12 cycles, you’ve committed to that selected Stacking duration and will be unable to redeem your STX prior to the completion of cycles. Once completed, their STX will automatically be redeemed. The redemption period is after the open window to opt in to the next cycle, so users will automatically miss the next stacking cycle.
Withdrawing STX from OKCoin — don’t forget the memo
When withdrawing STX from your OKCoin account to an external address, you’ll be asked to provide three pieces of information:
- The STX wallet address where you’re sending your STX
- An STX memo
- An address/blockchain domain tag
The STX wallet address and STX memo are required to withdraw STX from your OKCoin account. In the case that the receiving wallet does not require a specific phrase when depositing STX, then any phrase will work for the STX memo field. The address/blockchain domain tag field is optional and can be used as your own personal transaction reminder.
OKCoin Earn offers a more user-friendly and less expensive way to participate in the world of decentralized finance. Check out our DeFi protocol offers on Earn where you can deposit stablecoins and earn up to 18% (APY changes based on demand) — all while paying zero gas fees. For more details on using OKCoin’s Earn tool, please read our Earn Terms and Conditions.
