# Staking Staking is a process by which individuals hold and lock up a certain amount of a cryptocurrency in a specialized wallet or smart contract in order to participate in the blockchain's consensus process and earn rewards in the form of additional cryptocurrency. Staking is typically used to secure and validate transactions on a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain, which is an alternative to the proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism used by cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. By staking their tokens, individuals contribute to the security and stability of the blockchain network and earn passive income in the form of staking rewards, which are distributed in proportion to the amount of tokens staked. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs-wallet.loopring.io/earn/staking.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.