Staking

Platform CLI provides commands to add validators and delegate stake on the Avalanche primary network.

Requirements

Network	Validator Min	Delegator Min	Min Duration
Local	1 AVAX	1 AVAX	24 hours
Fuji	1 AVAX	1 AVAX	24 hours
Mainnet	2,000 AVAX	25 AVAX	14 days

Adding a Validator

All validators require a BLS proof of possession. You can provide this manually (recommended) or auto-fetch from a node endpoint.

Manual BLS Mode (Recommended)

platform-cli validator add-permissionless \
  --node-id NodeID-BFa1paAAAA... \
  --stake 2000 \
  --duration 336h \
  --delegation-fee 0.02 \
  --bls-public-key 0x1234... \
  --bls-pop 0x5678... \
  --key-name mykey \
  --network mainnet

Auto-Fetch BLS from Node

platform-cli validator add-permissionless \
  --node-id NodeID-BFa1paAAAA... \
  --stake 2000 \
  --duration 336h \
  --delegation-fee 0.02 \
  --node-endpoint http://validator.example.com:9650 \
  --key-name mykey \
  --network mainnet

Get BLS Credentials

Use node info to retrieve BLS credentials from a running node:

platform-cli node info --ip validator.example.com:9650

Node ID:        NodeID-BFa1paAAAA...
BLS Public Key: 0x1234567890abcdef...
BLS PoP:        0xfedcba0987654321...

Delegating Stake

Delegate AVAX to an existing validator:

platform-cli validator add-permissionless-delegator \
  --node-id NodeID-BFa1paAAAA... \
  --stake 100 \
  --duration 336h \
  --key-name mykey \
  --network mainnet

Delegation Fees

Validators charge a fee as a percentage of delegator rewards:

`--delegation-fee` value	Percentage	Meaning
`0.02`	2%	Validator keeps 2% of delegation rewards
`0.05`	5%	Validator keeps 5% of delegation rewards
`0.10`	10%	Validator keeps 10% of delegation rewards

Timing

Start Time

--start now          # Default: 30 seconds from submission (5 minutes with --ledger)
--start 2026-02-01T00:00:00Z   # RFC3339 format

Post-Durango, the P-Chain ignores the transaction start time — validation begins when the transaction is accepted. --start is retained for compatibility but has no on-chain effect on current networks.

Duration

Duration uses Go format (hours):

Value	Period
`336h`	14 days (minimum on mainnet)
`720h`	30 days
`2160h`	90 days
`8760h`	365 days

Reward Address

By default, rewards go to your P-Chain address. Specify a different address with:

--reward-address P-avax1xyz789...

Auto-Renewed Staking (ACP-236)

An auto-renewed validator automatically restakes at the end of each cycle instead of expiring, optionally compounding its rewards. The configuration for the next cycle can be updated at any time by the owner address set when the validator was added.

Add an Auto-Renewed Validator

platform-cli validator add-auto-renewed \
  --node-id NodeID-BFa1paAAAA... \
  --stake 2000 \
  --period 336h \
  --delegation-fee 0.02 \
  --auto-compound 1 \
  --bls-public-key 0x1234... \
  --bls-pop 0x5678... \
  --owner-address P-avax1xyz789... \
  --key-name mykey \
  --network mainnet

Flag	Description	Default
`--node-id`	Node ID to validate (required)
`--stake`	Stake amount in AVAX (network minimum applies)
`--period`	Auto-renewal cycle duration (e.g. `336h` for 14 days)	`336h`
`--auto-compound`	Fraction of rewards to auto-compound (`0.3` = 30%, `1` = 100%)	`1`
`--delegation-fee`	Delegation fee (`0.02` = 2%)	`0.02`
`--owner-address`	Address authorized to update the auto-renew config	own address
`--reward-address`	Reward address	own address
`--bls-public-key` / `--bls-pop`	BLS credentials (recommended/manual mode)
`--node-endpoint`	Node endpoint to auto-fetch BLS (fallback mode)

Update the Next-Cycle Config

Change the next cycle's period and auto-compound rate, or stop auto-renewal. Must be signed by the --owner-address set at add time, and references the original add-auto-renewed transaction ID.

platform-cli validator set-auto-renewed-config \
  --tx-id 2QYfFcfZ9... \
  --node-id NodeID-BFa1paAAAA... \
  --period 720h \
  --auto-compound 0.5 \
  --key-name mykey

Flag	Description
`--tx-id`	Original `AddAutoRenewedValidatorTx` ID (required)
`--period`	Next cycle duration, or `0` to exit after the current cycle (required)
`--auto-compound`	Fraction of rewards to auto-compound (required)
`--node-id`	Validator node ID to narrow the authority lookup (optional, recommended)