IOTA staking is holding steady at a median APY of 11% with 49.9% of the total supply locked. Total stake dropped 0.78% this week, but with an 18% price jump in IOTA to $0.0649, yields in dollar terms have improved. Validator count dipped slightly, now at 67 active nodes.

Key metrics

The staking ratio is worth watching—it dropped slightly this week, which could signal profit-taking as prices rise. Validator count fell by 3, but no new validators are joining the network in the next epoch, indicating some stagnation in decentralization improvements.

What changed

Stake declined 0.78% week-over-week, likely due to 7.1M IOTA withdrawn against 18.9M IOTA staked this epoch. The slight drop in the staking ratio (down 0.45%) is a continuation of the slow decline in locked supply we've seen for the past month. The APY nudged up by 0.09% as a result, with rewards being distributed across fewer tokens. This is a small but positive sign for those still staking—you're earning just a bit more now.

The Nakamoto coefficient holds at 7, but top 10 validators now control 44.2% of the stake, up 0.72%. Concentration is creeping up, which isn't ideal for decentralization. Still, no validators are flagged as "at risk," and the network remains in stable operation.

Top validators

These are the top choices for staking based on a balance of APY, commission, decentralization, and reliability:

1. starfish-one: 12.2% APY, 0% commission, 1.2% voting power
2. Klever: 11.9% APY, 2% commission, 0.8% voting power
3. LinkPool: 11.9% APY, 2% commission, 1.1% voting power
4. jednaosma.pl: 11.8% APY, 3% commission, 1.3% voting power

These options provide good yields while keeping voting power distributed. Starfish-one leads the pack with the top APY and no commission. Watch out for validators with higher APYs outside the typical range (10-14%), as they may have less reliable histories.

Next steps

• Expect APYs to compress slightly if staking inflows continue to outpace withdrawals.
• Monitor validator concentration—higher centralization could increase risk.
• Use the APY Calculator to estimate your potential returns.
• Check live validator scores and activity on the Staking Tracker.

Data is based on current network conditions and may change as new epochs begin.