How to stake LAVA with Chorus One

About the Lava Network

The Lava Network (LAVA) is a marketplace of infrastructure providers who collectively enable users and developers to interact with blockchains, through infrastructure like RPC and APIs. This allows users to access blockchain data (like prices, transactions, and more) by leveraging a network of decentralized providers, ensuring transparency, reliability, and data accuracy without relying on centralized sources.

• Think of it like Uber for infrastructure providers (also called node providers).

By incentivizing data providers to serve accurate information and penalizing those who provide incorrect data, LAVA aims to solve the problem of unreliable and centralized data in blockchain applications. To learn more about Lava Network and how it works, check out our most recent blogpost here or our comprehensive deep dive found here.

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How to Stake

1. Install the Keplr Wallet Extension

For the focus of this guide, we recommend using the Keplr wallet. While Leap is usable, this guide will be walking through a demonstration with Keplr.

However, if you would like to use Leap wallet and stake directly to the Chorus One validator via w3coins, you can reference the quick guide below:

In case you don't have the Keplr extension installed in your browser, please visit https://www.keplr.app/ and click on 'Install Keplr'.

Click on Install Keplr for Chrome if you are using a Chrome browser or Brave if you are using the Brave browser and follow the installation instructions.

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2. Create/Import an Account

Click on the extension in the Chrome/Brave toolbar and the following page will open up.

• It is recommended to pin it to your browser toolbar by clicking on the jigsaw piece 🧩 icon and then the pin 📌 icon.

Select to either create a new wallet, import an existing wallet, or connect with a hardware wallet.

In case you do not have an existing Keplr account you can click 'Create a new wallet'.

If you already have a wallet to use, you can select 'Import an existing wallet' or you can connect with a compatible hardware wallet, such as a Ledger device.

• Alternatively, Keplr now offers the ability to associate your wallet with your Google account, however, this is a less secure way of establishing your wallet and is not recommended.

Here you can choose between creating, importing, or associating your wallet with your Google account.

If you choose to create a new wallet you will be shown 12 words as your mnemonic seed.

• Optional: You can select the 24 words option for a more secure mnemonic.

Please be sure to back up your mnemonic seed securely.

• It is recommended to store it physically; never in a digital format or as a screenshot.

Never share this seed phrase with anyone, as they will have access to your funds.

• A lost mnemonic seed phrase cannot be recovered.
• Anyone with your mnemonic seed phrase can take control of your assets.

Next, enter an account name and a passphrase to lock and unlock your wallet. You will be asked for the mnemonic again.

• Enter the 12 or 24 words in order and case sensitive (all lower case).
• This is to make sure you remember the mnemonic and confirm that you wrote it down correctly.

After verifying your 12 or 24 word phrase, you will be prompted to select any other Cosmos Hub networks you'd like to add to your wallet.

• In this case, we will be adding Lava (LAVA), so please be sure to select that from the list or use the search bar to find it.

No need to add any other networks if you don't plan on using them yet. You can always select more networks later.  

However, it is advisable to have 'Cosmos Hub' selected when creating your new wallet.

Be sure to search for LAVA in the list in addition to Cosmos Hub.

Once you selected the relevant networks you want to use, click 'Save' and you'll be all set to go.

All set!! Your Keplr wallet is good to go!

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3. Log in to your Keplr wallet

Regardless of whether you already have an wallet or if you just created it, you can now click on the Keplr extension to view your address or visit https://wallet.keplr.app/?tab=overview to see your full Keplr dashboard.

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4. Stake your LAVA

If you don't already have LAVA in your wallet, you can fund it with some tokens. You may use an exchange to transfer the tokens to your address or get it from a trusted third party that already holds some.

If you want to stake from the browser extension wallet, you can either navigate to the Keplr dashboard (shown below) or scroll down on the wallet screen and select LAVA.

Alternatively, you can connect Keplr to the w3coins explorer and stake to the Chorus One validator at this address: lava@1uxmygu9mc6kzykhquzdvtqlnxcprpgjxxhf6ln

Next, you will be prompted to stake.

How to access the dashboard from the wallet browser extension

Scroll down to find LAVA or use the search bar.

Once you are on the Keplr dashboard, to stake click on the 'Stake' tab in the left hand side of the dashboard.

Once there, you will see three steps highlighted in the pink box in the screenshot below.

1. Select Chain
2. Select Validator
3. Stake

Scroll or through the list or search for the chain you want, in this case LAVA.

• Then, repeat the same steps to find the Chorus One validator.

Once you've chosen the Chorus One validator, select how much LAVA you wish to stake, then click the 'Stake' button at the bottom of the screen.

Clicking on Stake will take you to Keplr wallet for approval. Approve the transaction and you will be able to see your stake.

• Note: If you are using a Ledger hardware wallet, you will need to have the wallet connected, unlocked, and approve the transaction there.

Please note that there is a 21 day unbonding process (also known as unstaking) for LAVA.

During this period your stake no longer earns rewards and cannot be transferred, exchanged, or spent.

However, you can cancel the unstaking process if you wish without penalty.

5. Claiming Rewards

After some time you will see rewards accumulating in your wallet.

• This can be easiest to view from the Keplr dashboard.

You can simply go to the Keplr dashboard to claim them by selecting 'Claim' and approving the transaction.

• You will see all rewards available from all networks you are staking with.
• You can choose to claim all pending rewards or select which networks you specifically want to claim rewards for.

6. Unstaking your LAVA

If you wish to unstake your LAVA, you can do so from the same interface in Keplr that you used to stake.

• Either go to the Keplr dashboard or manage your asset directly from the browser extension window.

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Simply click on the validator you wish to unstake from and you will be prompted with the following screen.

Please note that LAVA undergoes a 21 day unbonding period when unstaking.

To proceed, click on 'Unstake' and follow the prompts to select the amount of LAVA you wish to unstake. Then confirm and sign the transaction in your wallet.

And that's it! Your LAVA will begin unbonding which you can track from your Keplr dashboard under the Staking tab.

You can view and manage all ongoing unstaking transactions (undelegations) from your Keplr dashboard and cancel them if you change your mind.

After the unbonding period is complete you will be able to transact with your unstaked LAVA again!

A Note to Institutional Investors:

If you are an institution looking to stake LAVA with Chorus One, please reach out to us via our staking request form.

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About Chorus One

Chorus One is one of the biggest institutional staking providers globally, operating infrastructure for 60+ Proof-of-Stake networks, including Ethereum, Cosmos, Solana, Avalanche, and Near, amongst others. Since 2018, we have been at the forefront of the PoS industry and now offer easy enterprise-grade staking solutions, industry-leading research, and also invest in some of the most cutting-edge protocols through Chorus Ventures. We are a team of over 50 passionate individuals spread throughout the globe who believe in the transformative power of blockchain technology.