# Staking 

Staking is a way of earning rewards for holding certain cryptocurrencies. If a cryptocurrency you own allows staking, you can stake some of this asset in return for a percentage-rate reward over time. Your assets are still in your possession when you stake them. You are free to unstake them at any time if you wish to trade them. 

Liquidity Mining reward distributions are available to claim through Sumero's staking contract. USDC-CLAY Liquidity Providers can claim Clay tokens from this contract. \
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**Features of Staking**

* Staking is open to anyone who wishes to participate
* Staking participants earn rewards in proportion to the tokens they have deposited
* There is no lock up period for staking 
* The staking reward depends on:
  * The time period that you stake your LP tokens for 
  * The ratio of staked tokens to the total staked tokens
* There is a reward rate set which is the “number of reward tokens you get per second” (e.g. rewardRate = 100 => 100 tokens rewarded per second)

**Benefits of Staking** 

* Earn passive interest for assets you plan on holding anyway
* Contribute to the security and efficiency of the protocol you are using