# Stake ETH

Staking in Ethereum requires infrastructure, Ether, and carefully following some steps to become a validator and start earning Ether.

While ethereum.org provides a step by step guide on how to [become a validator](https://launchpad.ethereum.org/en/), the Bloq platform makes it simpler by providing the infrastructure needed and an API to allow the users easily create validators and start staking.

**Requirements**

* A minimum balance of 32 ETH in the PoS Ethereum chain per validator to create.
* [Authentication to the Bloq API](https://docs.bloq.com/bloq-services/bloqstake/authenticate-to-bloq-api)

### 1. Prepare to create a validator

Before starting, ensure you have control on 3 Ethereum 1.0 addresses:

1. A funding address with at least 32 ETH plus an extra amount to pay for transaction fees.
2. A withdrawal address to receive the 32 ETH back.
3. A fee address to collect the transaction fees.

{% hint style="danger" %}
Be very careful when selecting and inputting the withdrawal address. The withdrawal address **can not** be changed later and losing access to the withdrawal keys will result in loss of access to tokens.
{% endhint %}

### 2. Create a validator

To create a validator using the addresses previously defined, call the BloqStake API with the authentication token (created using the steps outlined in [authentication.md](https://github.com/bloqpriv/bloq-services-monorepo/blob/gitbook/docs/bloq-services/bloqstake/auth/authentication.md)), the withdrawal address, and the fee address.

```shell
curl -X POST https://api.bloq.com/staking/ethereum/mainnet/validators \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer <AUTH_TOKEN>' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "withdrawalAddress": "<WITHDRAW_ADDRESS>",
    "feeAddress": "<FEE_ADDRESS>"
  }'
```

The response to the call will include the data required to create the 32 ETH deposit transaction:

```json
{
  "balance": "0",
  "chain": "mainnet",
  "pubkey": "91adb75d3347747a2d143d204adaaa3eb6edaf136c3429ff796c6f825c956916f4494d433ec94615184ddc3abe8697b2",
  "status": "pending",
  "depositData": "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"
}
```

The response includes the `pubkey` of the validator and other status information. That key can be used to check the status in the [beaconcha.in](https://beaconcha.in/) website.

### 3. Initiate the deposit

With the `depositData` provided, create, sign and transmit the transaction to the Ethereum PoW network. Using `web3.js`, doing so will look like this:

```javascript
web3.eth.sendTransaction({
  from: '<FUNDING_ADDRESS>',
  to: '0x00000000219ab540356cbb839cbe05303d7705fa', // Ethereum Foundation Eth 2.0 deposit contract
  data: '<DEPOSIT_DATA>',
  value: '32000000000000000000'
})
```

Once the transaction is confirmed, the Beacon Chain will process it and issue the 32 ETH in the PoS chain. Then, the validator will start attesting new blocks.