Cardano staking is non-custodial. When you delegate ADA to a stake pool, your ADA remain in your wallet and can still be used or transferred. Rewards are calculated by the Cardano protocol and vary over time depending on factors such as pool performance, stake, saturation and network parameters.
Cardano Staking at a Glance
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Cardano Basics
ADA Staking & Delegation
What does staking ADA mean?
Staking ADA means using the stake associated with your ADA to participate in Cardano’s proof-of-stake system. Most ADA holders do this by delegating their stake to a stake pool, which can produce blocks on behalf of its delegators. Learn how Cardano works →
What is a Cardano stake pool?
A Cardano stake pool is infrastructure operated by a Stake Pool Operator to participate in Cardano’s block production. ADA holders can delegate their stake to a pool without transferring ownership of their ADA. What is a Cardano stake pool? →
Do my ADA leave my wallet when I delegate?
No. Cardano staking is non-custodial. Delegating assigns the staking rights associated with your ADA to a stake pool, but the ADA themselves remain under your control in your wallet.
Are my ADA locked while staking?
No. Cardano protocol staking does not lock your delegated ADA. You can continue to send or spend ADA from the wallet while it is delegated.
Can I use my ADA while staking?
Yes. Your ADA remain liquid while delegated. If the balance of your delegated wallet changes, the amount of stake associated with that wallet is reflected through Cardano’s stake snapshots.
Can a stake pool take or spend my ADA?
No. Delegation does not give the Stake Pool Operator control over the ADA in your wallet. The operator receives your delegated stake weight, not custody of your funds.
Can delegated ADA be slashed?
Cardano does not use a slashing mechanism that removes delegated ADA when a stake pool underperforms. Poor pool performance can reduce or eliminate rewards for affected epochs, but it does not reduce the delegated ADA balance itself.
Can I change stake pools?
Yes. You can redelegate your stake to another Cardano stake pool without transferring your ADA to the new operator. The change becomes effective through Cardano’s normal epoch and snapshot cycle. Learn how to choose a stake pool →
Can I stop staking ADA?
Yes. Because your ADA are not locked by delegation, you can move them at any time. You can also change your delegation or deregister the stake credential if supported by your wallet.
ADA Rewards
Cardano Staking Rewards
When do I receive my first Cardano staking rewards?
After a new delegation becomes active, the first rewards typically arrive after approximately 15 to 20 days because Cardano uses a multi-epoch snapshot, block-production and reward-calculation cycle. See how Cardano staking rewards work →
How often are Cardano staking rewards paid?
Cardano epochs last approximately five days. After the initial delay, rewards can therefore be credited roughly every five days when the pool earns rewards.
Are Cardano staking rewards guaranteed?
No. Staking rewards are variable. Actual rewards depend on factors including block production, pool performance, delegated stake, saturation, pool fees and Cardano network parameters.
Why do staking rewards vary from epoch to epoch?
Cardano block production contains a probabilistic element. A stake pool may therefore produce more or fewer blocks than its long-term expectation in an individual epoch. Pool performance and changes to network parameters can also affect rewards.
What does ROA mean in Cardano staking?
ROA means Return on ADA. It is a historical measure showing staking rewards relative to delegated ADA over a given period. ROA describes past performance and should not be treated as a guaranteed future return. See how to evaluate historical ROA →
Where do Cardano staking rewards come from?
Cardano staking rewards are funded by transaction fees and monetary expansion from the remaining ADA reserves. The protocol calculates and distributes the available rewards according to Cardano’s reward mechanism. Cardano staking rewards explained →
Do stake pool fees affect my rewards?
Yes. A public stake pool declares a fixed cost and a margin. These are applied to the pool’s rewards according to Cardano’s reward rules before the remaining rewards are distributed proportionally among eligible delegators and pool owners.
Want the complete reward cycle?
Our dedicated rewards guide explains stake snapshots, epochs, the N → N+4 reward timeline and the factors that influence long-term staking returns.
Pool Selection
Choosing a Cardano Stake Pool
What should I look for when choosing a Cardano stake pool?
Useful criteria include historical performance and ROA, whether the operator runs a single pool or multiple pools, the fee structure, pledge, relay locations and the pool’s size relative to saturation. See the complete stake pool selection guide →
Does the size of a stake pool matter?
Yes, but bigger is not automatically better. A pool needs enough active stake to have regular opportunities to produce blocks, while pools approaching or exceeding saturation may become less attractive from a reward perspective.
What is stake pool saturation?
Saturation is Cardano’s mechanism for discouraging too much stake from concentrating in a small number of pools. Once a pool exceeds the protocol’s saturation threshold, additional stake no longer increases its potential pool rewards proportionally. Learn more about pool size and saturation →
What do fixed fee and margin mean?
The fixed cost is an amount taken from a pool’s earned rewards according to the protocol reward calculation, while the margin is a percentage of the remaining pool rewards allocated to the operator before the delegator portion is distributed.
What is pledge?
Pledge is ADA that a stake pool operator commits to their own pool. Cardano’s reward formula includes pledge as one of its parameters, although pledge should be evaluated together with performance, fees, stake and other pool characteristics.
What is a Single-Pool Operator?
A Single-Pool Operator runs one Cardano stake pool rather than operating multiple pools under the same organization. Delegating to independent single pools can help distribute stake among more independent operators and therefore support decentralization.
Do relay locations matter?
Relay nodes connect a stake pool to the broader Cardano network. Geographic distribution can be one useful indicator when assessing a pool’s infrastructure and contribution to network diversity, although relay location alone does not determine reward performance.
Compare stake pools using consistent criteria
Our selection guide explains six practical criteria for evaluating Cardano stake pools without relying on a single metric.
MARAC
Maracuja Pool FAQ
Maracuja Pool is an independent Cardano Single-Pool Operator. The questions below cover the most important pool-specific facts; general staking and reward questions are answered above.
What is the Maracuja Pool ticker?
The Maracuja Pool ticker is MARAC. When delegating through a wallet or pool explorer, always verify the pool identity before confirming your delegation.
What fees does Maracuja Pool charge?
Maracuja Pool currently has a 170 ADA fixed cost and 0% margin. These pool parameters are publicly visible on Cardano stake pool explorers.
How much ADA does Maracuja Pool pledge?
Maracuja Pool has a declared pledge of 100,000 ADA.
Is Maracuja a Single-Pool Operator?
Yes. Maracuja operates one Cardano stake pool, MARAC, rather than operating multiple Cardano pools under the same organization.
Where is Maracuja Pool infrastructure located?
Maracuja’s Cardano block producer is located in Germany. Relay nodes are distributed across Germany, Japan and Australia.
Does Maracuja Pool use renewable energy?
Yes. Maracuja Pool’s Cardano infrastructure is operated using 100% renewable energy. Learn about sustainable Cardano staking →
Does Maracuja Pool support The Ocean Cleanup?
Yes. Maracuja donates the operator rewards from one epoch each month to The Ocean Cleanup. The donation comes from Maracuja’s operator rewards and does not reduce the protocol-calculated share assigned to delegators.
Cardano & Midnight
Do Cardano Delegators Receive NIGHT Rewards?
No, not currently. Delegating ADA to a Cardano stake pool does not currently generate additional NIGHT rewards.
Cardano Stake Pool Operators are part of Midnight’s broader decentralization model, but no additional NIGHT reward mechanism for ADA delegators is currently active. Cardano staking rewards and future Midnight incentives should therefore be treated as separate mechanisms unless Midnight officially introduces and activates such a reward model.
Current Midnight NIGHT Rewards Status →Continue Learning
Cardano Guides
Use the dedicated guides below when you need more than a short FAQ answer.
What Is Cardano?
Understand Cardano, proof of stake, ADA and the basic network architecture.
What Is a Cardano Stake Pool?
Learn what stake pools do and how block production and delegation work.
How to Choose a Stake Pool
Compare performance, fees, pledge, decentralization, relay locations and saturation.
Cardano Staking Rewards
Understand reward timing, epochs, ROA and the factors that influence ADA staking rewards.
Sources & Maintenance
Last reviewed: September 2026
This FAQ is maintained as a concise reference for Cardano delegators. Detailed explanations are kept in the dedicated Cardano guides linked above. Protocol-related information is checked primarily against current official Cardano documentation.