stake.link is the leading liquid staking protocol for Chainlink (LINK), built by a consortium of 15 top-tier Chainlink node operators. Stake LINK, receive stLINK, and exit in 1–7 days instead of the native 28-day cooldown.
LINK enters the Priority Pool, gets distributed across Chainlink node operators, and mints stLINK at an accruing exchange rate. Exits settle instantly when pool liquidity exists — otherwise they take a queue position that drains as deposits and unbonded LINK arrive.
Your LINK lands in the Priority Pool — a continuously-cycling liquidity buffer that also doubles as the exit lane for other holders.
Pool liquidity covers your request, so the Priority Pool settles you to LINK almost immediately — no queue. This is the common case while the buffer is funded.
Live signals detected by Sentinel monitors across all five risk classes.
See each alert's affected component, root-cause analysis, and recommended action. Pro members get the full risk breakdown for every protocol.
Chainlink staking imposes a 28-day cooldown on withdrawals, locks capital out of DeFi, and is gated by limited per-wallet caps in the native staking pool.
stake.link pools LINK from any wallet, delegates across 15 professional node operators, and issues stLINK — a liquid receipt token that auto-compounds rewards and can be redeemed in 1–7 days via the Priority Pool or swapped instantly on Curve.
The only liquid staking solution for Chainlink at scale, built and operated by the actual Chainlink node operator consortium. Deepest stLINK/LINK Curve liquidity, official-adjacent positioning (Chainlink Labs holds 7.7% of SDL), and short-form exit via the Priority Pool buffer.
stake.link is a Liquid Staking protocol operating on Ethereum. stake.link is the leading liquid staking protocol for Chainlink (LINK), built by a consortium of 15 top-tier Chainlink node operators. Stake LINK, receive stLINK, and exit in 1–7 days instead of the native 28-day cooldown.
stake.link pools LINK from any wallet, delegates across 15 professional node operators, and issues stLINK — a liquid receipt token that auto-compounds rewards and can be redeemed in 1–7 days via the Priority Pool or swapped instantly on Curve.
DeFi Sentinel rates stake.link AA with a safety score of 86/100, indicating very low risk. The score reflects five risk dimensions: smart contract & technical risk, economic design & market risk, governance & centralization, sustainability & competitive position, and reputation & social trust. stake.link has 18 audits on record. DeFi Sentinel's analysis flagged 4 medium, 5 low risk alerts across Smart Contract & Technical Risk, Economic Design & Market Risk, Governance & Centralization, Sustainability & Competitive Position and Reputation & Social Trust. As with all DeFi protocols, residual risk remains and users should review the full risk breakdown before depositing.
stake.link has a DeFi Sentinel safety score of 86/100 (rating AA), last updated June 24, 2026. The score is computed across smart contract & technical risk (30%), economic design & market risk (25%), governance & centralization (20%), sustainability & competitive position (15%), and reputation & social trust (10%).
stake.link is deployed on Ethereum.
Yes. stake.link has 18 audit reports on record from firms including Sigma Prime, Sigma Prime, Cyfrin. Audit reports and dates are linked under the Resources tab on this page.
