Skip to main content
Avalanche is a high-performance, layer-one blockchain designed for superior speed, sub-second transaction finality, and high-throughput dApp development. Avalanche uses a multi-chain architecture with specialized chains (X, C, and P-chains) to enhance scalability and interoperability while remaining fully compatible with Ethereum’s smart contracts.

​
Overview

​
Specialized chains

  • P-Chain (Platform Chain) — the layer responsible for staking. Anchorage labels the P-Chain native asset AVAX_PCHAIN.
  • C-Chain (Contract Chain) — an EVM-compatible smart contract layer used for deploying decentralized applications (dApps) and executing standard DeFi transactions. Anchorage labels the C-Chain native asset AVAX.

​
Supported features

No support for transfers for AVAX_PCHAIN. Once you deposit or bridge AVAX to a P-Chain address, you can only bridge back to C-Chain to access funds. If you need to split AVAX across different P-Chain addresses, you will need to bridge separately to the different addresses from C-Chain or directly transfer P-Chain AVAX to those addresses.
No early exit from an AVAX stake. Delegations are locked for the full duration you choose. Validators you operate are locked until the end of their current auto-renew cycle—there’s no way to withdraw mid-cycle on the Avalanche network. Plan your staking durations around when you’ll need liquidity.
Operate your own validator. Anchorage Digital also supports operating your own AVAX validator. To enable this feature, contact your Relationship Manager. For the full process, see Stake your own validator.
Bridging is a two-part process. When you bridge AVAX between C- and P-Chain, the bridging requires two separate operations that need to be initiated. For example, you first need to export from C-Chain (Part 1) and then go to your P-Chain wallet and initiate the import operation (Part 2) to complete bridging.

​
Staking vs. delegating

There are two ways to earn rewards on AVAX_PCHAIN with Anchorage Digital:
  • Staking — you operate your own validator on the Avalanche network and stake AVAX_PCHAIN to it. We sometimes call this creating your own validator, which matches the Create Validator option in the app.
  • Delegating — you stake AVAX_PCHAIN to a validator someone else operates, such as an Anchorage Digital validator. You don’t run any infrastructure yourself.
The sections below walk through each: Stake AVAX_PCHAIN for delegating and Stake your own validator for staking.

​
Helicon upgrade

Avalanche’s Helicon network upgrade activated on mainnet on September 22, 2026. It brings two changes to validators you operate through Anchorage Digital:
  • Shorter minimum — the minimum validator staking period drops from 14 days to 2 days.
  • Auto-renewal — validators restake automatically at the end of each cycle, with a share of rewards restaked or paid out based on your settings.
Delegations to existing validators don’t get these changes—delegations don’t auto-renew, and the minimum delegation duration on Anchorage Digital is currently 15 days. It will drop to the Avalanche protocol’s 14-day minimum soon. Stakes created before Helicon keep their original terms and don’t auto-renew.

​
General steps to stake AVAX

  1. Deposit AVAX to your Anchorage Digital wallet.
  2. Bridge AVAX to your Anchorage Digital P-Chain wallet.
  3. Delegate AVAX_PCHAIN to a validator on the Avalanche network, or stake your own validator.
  4. When a delegation ends, or after you unstake your validator and its current cycle ends, your principal and rewards return to the P-Chain wallet you staked from.
  5. You can bridge back from P-Chain to C-Chain or stake again.

​
Bridge from C-Chain to P-Chain

1

Create your P-Chain wallet

Create a P-Chain wallet (AVAX_PCHAIN) that will receive your bridged assets.
2

Navigate to your C-Chain wallet

Navigate to your C-Chain AVAX wallet.
3

Export to P-Chain

Tap the Stake button, then tap Export to p-chain. Enter the amount to bridge and select the P-Chain wallet that will be your Destination Address.
4

Initiate and approve

Initiate the operation and gather quorum approvals.
5

Import to P-Chain

After the operation completes, navigate to the Destination Address P-Chain wallet. Tap Import from c-chain, then tap Next. The amount you exported is automatically populated. Add an optional comment, then tap Review. Review the operation and tap Submit and approve.

​
Bridge from P-Chain to C-Chain

You need to deposit a tiny amount of AVAX into the destination C-Chain wallet in order to complete the bridging process.
1

Create your C-Chain wallet

Create a C-Chain wallet (AVAX) that will receive your bridged assets. Deposit a small amount of AVAX to the wallet.
2

Navigate to your P-Chain wallet

Navigate to your P-Chain AVAX_PCHAIN wallet.
3

Export to C-Chain

Tap the Stake button, then tap Export to c-chain. Enter the amount to bridge and select the AVAX wallet that will be your Destination Address (you must select a C-Chain wallet with a tiny amount of AVAX to complete bridging).
4

Initiate and approve

Initiate the operation and gather quorum approvals.
5

Import to C-Chain

After the operation completes, navigate to the Destination Address C-Chain wallet and tap the Stake button.
If the Stake button is greyed out, tap the Hide card link below it to see the additional options.
Tap Import AVAX from p-chain, then tap Next to complete the import. Review the amount to import (automatically populated for you), add an optional comment, then tap Review. Review the operation and tap Submit and approve.

​
Stake AVAX_PCHAIN

When you delegate to an existing validator, you choose a staking duration of at least 15 days and at most 365 days. Our 15-day minimum is temporary and will drop to the Avalanche protocol’s 14-day minimum soon. Your chosen duration must end on or before that validator’s current staking period ends. Delegations don’t auto-renew—when your duration ends, your principal and rewards return to your wallet automatically, with no action needed from you. Because a delegation must fit within the validator’s current period, you can’t delegate to a validator whose current auto-renew cycle ends in less than 15 days. If you operate your own validator and want to delegate to it, see Accept delegations to your validator.
1

Navigate to your P-Chain wallet

Navigate to your AVAX_PCHAIN wallet.
2

Initiate staking

Tap the Stake button, then tap Stake in the drop-down.
3

Enter validator address

Enter the validator address that you wish to stake to. To delegate to an Anchorage Digital validator, use one of these NodeIDs:
  • NodeID-J6og828vTYU1Vpb5MET9MT7JS6iqMjRSC
  • NodeID-CLquKzhJZaQ2B5XxpKnk3HjnRsp6GXQoG
Your staked amount will be locked to this validator for the full duration you choose. Choose a validator and duration that match your need for staking and liquidity.
4

Enter stake amount

Enter the amount you wish to stake.
Minimum stake amount is 25 AVAX + 0.05 AVAX for fees.
5

Preview and submit

Tap Preview operation, then tap Confirm and submit for approval.
6

Quorum approval

Have your team members quorum approve the operation.

​
Stake your own validator

Anchorage Digital also supports operating your own validator on the Avalanche network. To enable this feature, contact your Relationship Manager. Validators you create auto-renew. Instead of a fixed end date, you set an auto-renew period—the length of each staking cycle. At the end of every cycle, your validator restakes automatically for another period until you unstake it. You also set a rewards compounding percentage, which controls how much of each cycle’s rewards is restaked and how much is paid out to your wallet. Before you begin, gather your validator’s NodeID, BLS public key, and BLS signature (proof of possession). You also need a minimum of 2,000 AVAX_PCHAIN in your P-Chain wallet.
1

Navigate to your P-Chain wallet

Navigate to your AVAX_PCHAIN wallet.
2

Create a validator

Tap the Actions button, then select Create Validator.
3

Enter your validator details

Complete the fields:
  • Node ID — your validator’s NodeID.
  • Public Key — your BLS public key.
  • Signature — your BLS signature (proof of possession).
  • Staking Rewards Commission — the commission you charge delegators, pre-filled at 5% and adjustable.
  • Amount — the amount to stake, or tap Set max. The minimum is 2,000 AVAX plus 0.05 AVAX for fees.
  • Auto-Renew Period — the length of each staking cycle in days, from a minimum of 2 days to a maximum of 365 days.
  • Rewards Compounding — the percentage of each cycle’s rewards to restake, from 0% to 99.9%. The remainder is paid out to your reward addresses.
  • Staking Reward Address — the wallet where your paid-out validator rewards are deposited.
  • Delegation Reward Address — the wallet where paid-out commission from your delegators is deposited.
Compounding is capped at 99.9% because the Avalanche network doesn’t yet provide the data needed to account for 100% compounding. At least 0.1% of each cycle’s rewards is paid out to your wallet.
4

Preview and submit

Tap Preview operation, review the details, then tap Confirm and submit for approval.
5

Quorum approval

Have your team members quorum approve the operation.
You can’t change the auto-renew period or rewards compounding percentage after you create a validator. To use different settings, unstake the validator and create a new one once its funds return. Every validator you create auto-renews—there’s no fixed-duration option. To stake for a single cycle, create your validator, then unstake it once it’s actively staking. It stops at the end of its first cycle. Your validator must meet Avalanche’s uptime requirement in each cycle. If it doesn’t, the network removes it at the end of that cycle and returns your principal and rewards to your wallet.
Shorter periods give you more frequent exit points, but Avalanche pays a lower reward rate on shorter staking periods. Choose a period that balances your liquidity needs with your yield goals.

​
Accept delegations to your validator

If you want others—or your own wallets—to delegate to your validator, set its Auto-Renew Period to at least 15 days. The Avalanche protocol requires delegations to last at least 14 days, and each delegation must end before your validator’s current cycle ends. A shorter cycle leaves no room for a delegation to fit. While our temporary 15-day delegation minimum applies, set the period to at least 16 days if you plan to delegate to it from an Anchorage Digital wallet. Because a delegation must fit within the current cycle, submit it early in your validator’s cycle. For example, with a 15-day period, a 14-day delegation needs to start within the first day of a cycle. If you don’t plan to accept delegations, you can set any period from 2 to 365 days. Choose carefully—you can’t change the period after you create the validator.

​
Unstake AVAX_PCHAIN

Avalanche doesn’t support exiting a stake early. How your funds come back depends on how you staked:

​
Unstake your validator

Unstaking stops your validator from auto-renewing. It stays active and keeps earning rewards until the end of its current cycle, then your principal and all restaked rewards return to your wallet. You can unstake at any point during a cycle.

​
Unstaking from the web dashboard

1

Open staking details

Navigate to the AVAX_PCHAIN wallet that’s staking. Select Actions, then select Staking Details.
2

Find your validator

The Staking Details page lists your Validation Positions and Delegation Positions. Find the validation position you want to stop.
3

Unstake

Select Unstake on that position, then follow the prompts to review and submit the operation. It appears as Unstake AVAX – Stop Auto-Renewing.
4

Submit for approval

Follow the prompts to submit biometric approval—quorum approval is required.

​
Unstaking from iOS

1

Open staking details

Navigate to the AVAX_PCHAIN wallet that’s staking. Tap Actions, then tap View details.
2

Find your validator

Find the validation position you want to stop in your Validation Positions.
3

Unstake

Tap the three-dot menu on that position, then tap Unstake. Follow the prompts to review and submit the operation.
4

Submit for approval

Follow the prompts to submit biometric approval—quorum approval is required.
You can’t cancel an unstake once it’s approved. Your validator exits at the end of its current cycle.
Delegations have no Unstake option—they end on their own when the duration you chose is over.

​
AVAX_PCHAIN staking rewards

How rewards are paid depends on how you stake:
  • If you delegate to a validator — rewards are distributed at the end of the staking duration, together with your principal. They don’t compound during the lockup, so stake them again after they unlock to compound your returns.
  • If you operate your validator — rewards are recognized at the end of every cycle. The share set by your rewards compounding percentage is restaked into the next cycle, and the rest is paid out to your reward addresses. When you unstake, the restaked rewards return along with your principal at the end of the final cycle.
Each cycle, your validator’s rewards appear in your activity as separate operations: Restaked rewards stay locked in your validator until it exits. Paid-out rewards are available in your reward address wallets right away.