Staking PENDLE means depositing it into Pendle's staking contract and receiving sPENDLE, a liquid token that collects the protocol's revenue share, with no lockup and a 14-day withdrawal period when you want out. PENDLE holders who do nothing earn nothing; the buybacks funded by 80 percent of protocol fees go only to sPENDLE. This guide covers what staking pays, how to do it, how to leave, and what changed for people who were locked into the old vePENDLE system.
What staking PENDLE earns
Pendle charges a 5 percent fee on all yield and points that flow through its Yield Tokens, plus swap fees on Principal Token trades, and directs 80 percent of that revenue into buying PENDLE on the open market. The bought-back tokens are distributed to sPENDLE holders in proportion to their stake, so the reward is paid in PENDLE and its size moves with protocol revenue. In a busy yield cycle the payout rises; in a quiet one it falls. The full route from a user's yield to a staker's wallet is set out in the PENDLE tokenomics, and the tokenomics documentation describes how staked tokens are excluded from circulating supply.
There is no fixed APY to quote. The rate shown in the Pendle app at any moment is the annualized value of recent buybacks divided by the amount staked, and it changes weekly. The model rewards patience through cycles rather than promising a number, which is the honest way to describe any revenue-share token.
How to stake, step by step
- Hold PENDLE in a self-custody wallet. PENDLE is an ERC-20 token on Ethereum, also available on Arbitrum and other networks Pendle supports. If your tokens sit on an exchange, withdraw them to a wallet you control first, choosing the network you intend to stake on.
- Fund the wallet for gas. Staking on Ethereum mainnet costs Ethereum gas fees for the approval and the stake; a Layer 2 costs cents. Keep a little native token for the transactions.
- Open the staking page. Connect the wallet to Pendle's app, go to the sPENDLE section, and confirm the network matches where your tokens are.
- Approve and stake. Approve the contract to spend your PENDLE, then enter the amount and confirm. The wallet receives sPENDLE at the current exchange rate between the two tokens.
- Let rewards accrue. Buyback distributions raise the value of sPENDLE relative to PENDLE over time; there is nothing to claim manually in the base case. Check the app's dashboard for the current rate and your position's value.
The whole process takes minutes. The decision that deserves the time is the network choice, because staking on mainnet and later wanting to use sPENDLE as collateral on another chain means a bridge transaction in between.
Unstaking: two exits
| Route | How it works | Cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard withdrawal | Request an unstake, wait 14 days, then claim PENDLE | No fee | Planned exits, any size |
| Instant exit | Convert sPENDLE to PENDLE immediately | 5 percent of the amount | Emergencies, or when a 14-day wait costs more than 5 percent |
The 14-day queue is the mechanism that replaced vePENDLE's locks. It prevents capital from rushing in ahead of a distribution and out after it, without freezing anyone for years. The 5 percent instant-exit fee is deliberately steep: it is there to make the queue the default and to compensate remaining stakers, since the fee stays in the protocol.
If you held vePENDLE
Pendle paused new vePENDLE locks at 00:00 UTC on 29 January 2026 and took a snapshot of every existing lock. Holders received a loyalty multiplier on their sPENDLE rewards of up to 4x, scaled to the time remaining on the old lock and fading over two years, which The Block reported as the bridge between the two systems. A user who had locked for the full two years in January 2026 therefore earns a boosted share through early 2028, while someone whose lock was about to expire received little extra.
The documentation now labels vePENDLE as legacy and directs remaining lockers to migrate through the app. Locks still run to their original expiry; the change is that no new ones can be created and the revenue share now flows through sPENDLE.
What sPENDLE can do while it is staked
Because sPENDLE is a transferable token rather than a locked balance, it can be moved between wallets, used as collateral in lending protocols that list it, or deployed into liquidity positions, all while continuing to accrue buybacks. The CoinMarketCap Academy write-up on the launch noted that composability was the main reason Pendle moved away from locks: a two-year vePENDLE position could do nothing except vote and collect. Voting itself has changed too, since emissions are now allocated algorithmically instead of through weekly gauge votes, so sPENDLE is a revenue claim rather than a governance weapon.
That composability sits alongside Pendle's own products. A staker who wants exposure to the yield markets as well can hold sPENDLE and separately trade the Principal and Yield Tokens in those markets, or take a position on perpetual funding through Boros, whose activity feeds the same revenue pool.
Risks worth pricing in
Staking does not change the token's price risk. sPENDLE rises and falls with PENDLE, which has been one of the more volatile DeFi assets, and a buyback-funded reward of a few percent does little to offset a large drawdown; the PENDLE price outlook sets out how wide that range has been. Rewards depend on protocol revenue, so a slow yield market means a thin payout. The contracts are new, launched in January 2026, and any smart-contract failure would affect staked balances directly. Tax treatment of buyback distributions varies by jurisdiction and is worth checking before staking a large position.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a lockup for staking PENDLE?
No. sPENDLE replaced the vePENDLE lock system in January 2026, and stakers can leave at any time through a 14-day withdrawal queue or immediately by paying a 5 percent exit fee. The old two-year locks still run to their original expiry for people who held them, with a loyalty bonus on top.
How much does staking PENDLE pay?
The reward is paid in PENDLE bought back with 80 percent of protocol fees, so the rate depends on how much revenue Pendle earns in a given period and how much is staked. Pendle's app shows the current annualized figure, which changes weekly. There is no fixed or guaranteed rate.
Can I stake PENDLE on LeveX?
No. Staking happens through Pendle's own app, where PENDLE is deposited into the sPENDLE contract. LeveX is where the token trades, on spot and perpetual futures markets, and where a trader can buy PENDLE before withdrawing it to a wallet for staking.
Staking as a claim on Pendle's fees
sPENDLE turned the revenue share from a two-year commitment into a position you can leave in two weeks, and that single change is what made PENDLE a token most holders can reasonably stake. The reward tracks protocol fees, the exits are clear, and the old lockers were compensated for the switch.
If you want the token first, LeveX lists PENDLE spot against USDT for purchases you can withdraw and stake, and PENDLE perpetual futures for leveraged exposure without staking at all. The rest of the token library is in Crypto in a Minute.