// FAQ
Common Questions
Everything about ONDO staking on Ethereum
What is ONDO Staking? +
ONDO Staking (ondostaking.com) is a decentralized staking protocol on Ethereum for ONDO Finance token holders. Deposit ONDO tokens and earn 8.4%–16.0% APY in protocol rewards, gain veONDO governance voting power, and participate in ONDO Finance's growth — all non-custodially with no minimum deposit.
What is ONDO Finance? +
ONDO Finance is a leading real-world asset (RWA) tokenization protocol. It creates on-chain versions of traditional financial instruments: OUSG (tokenized US Treasury Bills) and USDY (a yield-bearing stablecoin backed by US Treasuries). ONDO Finance bridges institutional fixed income to blockchain, making T-Bill yields accessible on-chain. ONDO is the governance and staking token of the protocol.
What is the ONDO token? +
ONDO is the governance token of ONDO Finance. It's used for: staking to earn protocol rewards, governance voting via veONDO (vote-escrowed ONDO), and participating in protocol treasury management. ONDO token holders have ultimate control over ONDO Finance's product direction, fee parameters, and treasury allocations through on-chain governance proposals.
What APY does ONDO Staking offer? +
ONDO Staking offers tiered APY: Flexible tier 8.4% APY (withdraw anytime), 30-day lock 10.0% APY, 90-day lock 12.5% APY, and 180-day lock 16.0% APY. Active governance participants (who vote on proposals) earn an additional +2% APY governance bonus. All rewards are paid in ONDO tokens daily.
How are ONDO staking rewards generated? +
ONDO staking rewards come from two sources: (1) ONDO Finance protocol revenue — fees collected from OUSG, USDY, and other RWA products are partially distributed to stakers; (2) ONDO DAO treasury emissions — the governance DAO allocates a portion of ONDO treasury tokens as incentives to reward long-term stakers. The combination creates the 8.4%+ APY funded by real protocol income rather than purely inflationary emissions.
What is veONDO? +
veONDO (vote-escrowed ONDO) is a non-transferable governance token received when you lock ONDO for a fixed term. Your veONDO balance = staked ONDO × lock duration multiplier. More veONDO means more voting power on ONDO Finance governance proposals. veONDO cannot be sold or transferred — it's purely a governance weight token that decays to zero if you stop staking.
Is there a lock-up period? +
The Flexible tier has zero lock-up — withdraw your ONDO plus all accrued rewards instantly at any time. The fixed-term tiers (30, 90, 180 days) lock your ONDO until the unlock date but earn higher APY in exchange. The countdown to your unlock date is visible in the dashboard at all times. Early withdrawal from fixed terms forfeits rewards earned after the lock start but returns your full principal.
What are the fees for staking ONDO? +
ONDO Staking charges: 0% deposit fee, 0% withdrawal fee. A 10% performance fee is taken from earned rewards only (not your principal) — if you earn 100 ONDO in rewards, you receive 90 ONDO and 10 ONDO goes to the protocol treasury. Ethereum gas fees (~$5–15) apply to deposit and withdrawal transactions. There are no hidden or recurring subscription fees.
What wallets work with ONDO Staking? +
ONDO Staking supports all EVM-compatible wallets: MetaMask (recommended), Coinbase Wallet, WalletConnect (400+ mobile wallets including Trust Wallet, Rainbow, imToken), Rabby Wallet, and hardware wallets (Ledger, Trezor) via MetaMask integration. Connect on Ethereum Mainnet — ONDO is an ERC-20 token and any Ethereum wallet holding ONDO can participate.
What is the minimum ONDO required to stake? +
There is no minimum deposit on ONDO Staking. You can stake any amount from 1 ONDO. Note that for very small amounts, Ethereum gas fees (~$5–15) may be disproportionately large relative to expected rewards. For small positions, consider a $50–100 minimum deposit to make gas costs economically sensible.
How do I claim ONDO staking rewards? +
On the Flexible tier, rewards accumulate in real time in your staking dashboard and are automatically distributed daily to your wallet — no manual claiming required. On fixed-term tiers, rewards accumulate during the lock period and can be claimed at any time via the Rewards tab. Alternatively, enable "auto-compound" to automatically re-stake rewards back into your position each day.
Can I stake ONDO on multiple tiers simultaneously? +
Yes. You can have multiple independent staking positions simultaneously — for example, 1,000 ONDO in Flexible, 5,000 ONDO in a 90-day lock, and 2,000 ONDO in a 180-day lock — all active at the same time. Each position earns its respective APY independently and has its own unlock date and reward stream. This allows you to maximize yield while maintaining some liquid flexibility.
What is OUSG and how does it relate to ONDO staking? +
OUSG is ONDO Finance's tokenized US Treasury Bond product — an on-chain ERC-20 token backed 1:1 by short-term US Treasuries currently yielding ~5%. OUSG generates protocol revenue for ONDO Finance. A portion of this revenue is shared with ONDO stakers, creating a direct link between US Treasury income and ONDO staking rewards. The more OUSG AUM grows, the more revenue available for staker distribution.
What is USDY and how does it generate staking yield? +
USDY (ONDO USD Yield) is ONDO Finance's yield-bearing stablecoin — it maintains a $1 value while paying holders the yield from underlying US Treasuries. USDY generates protocol fee revenue from management fees and spreads. This revenue stream contributes to the rewards pool distributed to ONDO stakers, meaning ONDO stakers benefit from USDY's growth in AUM and adoption.
Is ONDO Staking safe? What are the risks? +
Risks include: (1) Smart contract risk — mitigated by three audits and $1M bug bounty; (2) ONDO token price risk — rewards are paid in ONDO, so price decline reduces USD value of rewards; (3) Protocol risk — if ONDO Finance's RWA products underperform, reward rates may decrease; (4) Ethereum gas risk — high gas periods can make small withdrawals uneconomical. ONDO Staking has processed $480M with zero security incidents.
How does the governance bonus work? +
ONDO stakers who actively vote on at least one governance proposal per epoch (30-day period) earn an additional +2% APY governance bonus on top of their base staking rate. This bonus is paid in ONDO and calculated on your total staked balance. The governance bonus is designed to incentivize active participation in ONDO Finance protocol governance, not passive staking alone.
Can I auto-compound my ONDO staking rewards? +
Yes. ONDO Staking's auto-compound feature automatically re-stakes your daily rewards back into your Flexible position, allowing you to earn interest on your interest. Auto-compounding at 8.4% APY delivers approximately 8.76% effective annual return vs. 8.4% simple rate. Auto-compound is toggled in the dashboard settings and runs on-chain daily via a keeper bot — no Ethereum gas is charged to your wallet for compounding.
What happens to my staked ONDO if I lose wallet access? +
Because ONDO Staking is non-custodial, only your wallet's private key (seed phrase) can authorize withdrawals. If you lose wallet access, only your seed phrase (12 or 24 words) can recover it. ONDO Staking cannot reset, recover, or reassign positions — there's no "forgot password" in decentralized finance. Always back up your seed phrase in multiple secure physical locations and never share it digitally.
How does ONDO Staking differ from simply holding ONDO? +
Simply holding ONDO in your wallet earns zero yield and gives zero governance power. Staking ONDO on ondostaking.com earns 8.4%–16.0% APY in daily ONDO rewards, grants veONDO governance voting rights, and provides access to the governance bonus. Long-term ONDO holders who don't stake are forgoing significant yield — at 8.4% APY, unstaked ONDO loses ground to staked ONDO at approximately 8.4% per year.
Are ONDO staking rewards taxable? +
In most countries, crypto staking rewards are treated as ordinary income at the time of receipt, taxed at your marginal income tax rate. The USD value of ONDO rewards on the day received is your taxable income. In some jurisdictions, staking rewards are only taxed as capital gains when sold. ONDO Staking provides full transaction history export for tax reporting. Consult a qualified crypto tax professional for advice specific to your jurisdiction.
How do I vote on ONDO governance proposals? +
Connect your wallet to ondostaking.com, navigate to the Governance tab, and view active proposals. Vote YES, NO, or ABSTAIN using your veONDO voting weight. Voting is on-chain on Ethereum and requires a small gas fee (~$2–8). Proposals require a quorum of veONDO votes to pass. You can also delegate your veONDO voting power to a trusted community member if you prefer not to vote directly.
Can institutional investors use ONDO Staking? +
Yes. ONDO Staking supports institutional use through: Gnosis Safe multisig wallet compatibility, delegate voting for governance, CSV export for reporting, and no maximum deposit limit. Several crypto funds and DAO treasuries already stake ONDO as part of their yield strategies. For deposits above $1M, the ONDO team offers white-glove onboarding support via direct contact.
What is the ONDO token contract address on Ethereum? +
The official ONDO token is an ERC-20 on Ethereum Mainnet. The official contract address is published on the ONDO Finance website (ondo.finance) and verified on Etherscan. Always verify the contract address directly from the official ONDO Finance website — never trust token addresses shared on social media or in DMs, as counterfeit ONDO tokens exist. Only use the contract address from ondo.finance or ondostaking.com.
How do I get ONDO tokens to stake? +
ONDO tokens can be purchased on major centralized exchanges (Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, OKX, Bybit) and decentralized exchanges (Uniswap V3, Curve Finance). After purchasing, withdraw to your Ethereum wallet (ensure you select the Ethereum ERC-20 network, not other chains). With ONDO in your wallet on Ethereum Mainnet, connect to ondostaking.com and stake immediately.
Is ONDO Staking available on Layer-2 networks? +
ONDO Staking currently operates natively on Ethereum Mainnet only. ONDO Finance has plans to expand to Layer-2 networks including Polygon, Arbitrum, and Mantle Network in 2025, but staking rewards and governance voting currently require Ethereum L1. ONDO tokens exist as bridged versions on several L2s, but these cannot be staked on ondostaking.com — only Ethereum Mainnet ONDO is supported for staking.
What is the ONDO tokenomics and supply? +
ONDO has a total supply of 10 billion tokens with a vesting schedule for team, investors, and ecosystem allocations. The circulating supply increases gradually as tokens vest. Staking rewards are sourced from protocol revenue and DAO treasury — not new token minting, which would dilute holders. The protocol's non-inflationary reward model means staking APY is backed by actual revenue rather than pure token inflation.
Can I track my ONDO staking position on Etherscan? +
Yes. All ONDO Staking positions are fully on-chain and visible on Etherscan (etherscan.io). Search your Ethereum wallet address to see all ONDO staking transactions, current staked balance interactions with the staking contract, reward claim history, and governance vote transactions. This on-chain transparency is a core feature — your position is never held off-chain by any party.
How does ONDO Staking handle Ethereum network upgrades? +
All protocol upgrades require a 48-hour timelock and veONDO governance vote. Stakers always have at least 48 hours to review upcoming changes and withdraw if they disagree. Smart contracts are upgradeable only through this governed process — no unilateral changes are possible. The upgrade history is publicly documented on the governance forum and verified on Etherscan's proxy contract records.
How do I contact ONDO Staking support? +
Support is available via: (1) Discord server — primary technical support channel linked from ondostaking.com, (2) Telegram community group for quick questions, (3) Twitter/X for announcements, (4) Documentation at ondostaking.com/docs for self-service guides. Security warning: No ONDO Staking or ONDO Finance team member will ever DM you first, ask for your seed phrase or private keys, request you send ONDO for "verification," or link you to a third-party website. Only trust links from ondostaking.com and ondo.finance.
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