Add Cardano (ADA) and Aave (AAVE) to your portfolio on Okcoin — and get some of the lowest fees around when you trade. You can also earn staking rewards daily with up to 6% APY* if you lock your ADA tokens on Earn.
TL;DR
- What? Okcoin customers will soon be able to buy, sell, and trade ADA and AAVE against USD, and stake ADA on Earn.
- Who? ADA is available for all Okcoin customers, except for residents of Singapore and Brunei. AAVE is available for all Okcoin customers, except for residents of Singapore, Brunei, the EU, and the UK.
- When? Deposits are open for ADA and AAVE, and ADA staking is available as of July 14 at 9 am PT. Trading and withdrawals will be available on July 14 at 7 pm PT. Learn more
What is Cardano?
Cardano is a third-generation smart contract platform, and one of the biggest blockchain platforms to use a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. PoS is a way to secure a blockchain that doesn’t require energy-intensive mining. Instead, users lock some of their tokens on the protocol to indicate they have a long term stake in the platform’s success. An algorithm then randomly chooses some of the stakers to validate the transactions. Ethereum itself is in the process of transitioning from a proof-of-work mining model to PoS.
Cardano is currently in its second phase of development, with new smart contracts, scaling and governance features to come.
ADA is Cardano’s crypto token and is used to:
- Secure the protocol and earn staking rewards.
- Pay for transactions on the Cardano network.
- Vote on some governance matters – with more to be added soon.
Find ADA on Okcoin and start staking it on Earn — details about staking below.
What is Aave?
Aave is a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol that allows people to lend and borrow about 20 different cryptocurrencies. By depositing one of the available tokens, AAVE holders can earn real-time interest in the same way they would from a bank account. When someone deposits crypto onto the platform, they also have the option to take out a loan in the form of another crypto supported by Aave. Unlike taking out a loan from a bank, there’s no credit check or “approval” required from a third party.
There are a few DeFi protocols (like Maker and Compound) that offer lending and borrowing options. However, Aave is different in a couple of ways.
- Variable vs. fixed-rate borrowing: Borrowers are given the option to alternate between fixed and variable interest rates. While fixed rates provide some certainty about borrowing costs over the long-run, variable rates can come in handy if the borrower only needs the funds for a short period of time.
- Flash loans: One of Aave’s unique products is called “flash loans”, an extremely short-duration loan that doesn’t require collateral and must be paid back within the same transaction. This allows experienced crypto users to access up to millions of dollars’ worth of tokens at the cost of tens of dollars.
AAVE is Aave’s native token and can be used for participating in protocol governance, staking (not through Okcoin), and more.
How to stake ADA tokens on Okcoin
It’s easy to start earning up to 6% APY* with ADA, and you can stake as few as one token. Here’s how it works:
1. Go to our Earn page
Head over to Earn. Find ADA in the list of offers, and click Deposit.
2. Choose the amount you want to stake
Choose the number of ADA tokens you want to stake and click Continue. If you don’t own as much as you’d like to stake, click Buy to buy more ADA. Click Continue to see an estimate of the rewards you could earn by staking.
3. Confirm your deposit
Review the amount of ADA you’re about to stake and an estimate of the rewards you could earn. Click Back to change your order or Deposit to confirm it.
4. Earn rewards
When the deposit is confirmed, you’ll start seeing the staking rewards you’ve earned daily.
More about ADA staking
The rewards vary daily based on Cardano’s staking rewards APY. Here are three things to remember:
- You’ll pay zero fees for Earn when you keep the tokens locked for 15 days – 100% of the rewards go to you.
- If you want to continue earning after the 15 days, just stake your ADA again.
- You can withdraw early (before the end of the 15-day term), but you’ll need to withdraw all of the staked tokens and will have to pay a small fee for early withdrawal.
The early withdrawal fee is calculated like this:
Your deposit x 5% x (number of remaining days divided by 15).
Example: If you deposit 10 ADA and want to withdraw them three days before the 15-day term is over. That would be 10*5%*(3/15)= 0.1. The early withdrawal fee would only be 0.1 ADA.
Staking ADA is simple: Head over to our Earn page to see the current APY and learn more about our staking and DeFi offers.
*Estimated APY rates are not guaranteed and may change without notice. Your assets in Earn are not covered by insurance against potential losses, nor are they subject to FDIC or SIPC protections. Okcoin does not provide investment or asset recommendations. Please consult your own investment/tax professional regarding your specific circumstances and objectives. Okcoin is not engaged in the offer, sale, or trading of securities. For more details, please refer to Okcoin’s Earn Terms of Service.
