# How to Stake ZEN on Horizen Mainnet *ZEN Staking is Open. Stake Now before Reward Distribution Begins on Monday, July 27. * By [Horizen Blog](https://blog.horizen.io) · 2026-07-24 privacy, horizen, staking, zen --- Staking ZEN requires **ZEN** (the asset) and a small amount of **ETH** (for gas) on Horizen Mainnet. If your funds are on Base or a CEX, you must bridge them over first. Prerequisites ------------- Before you begin, ensure you have the following ready: * A Web3 Wallet installed (MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, WalletConnect, etc.) * **ETH on Base** (to cover initial bridging gas fees) * **ZEN tokens on Base** (ready to be bridged and staked) Detailed instructions for each step are provided right below. Step-by-step Walkthrough ------------------------ ### Step 1: Add Network & Tokens to Your Wallet * Navigate to the [**Horizen Staking Landing Page**](https://staking.horizen.io/) and click **Connect Wallet** in the top-right corner. ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/94bdf3b13c541abb553f2d7768c8859a63923ae9ade659dd74da298b37dddb59.png) 1. In the onboarding panel on the right, click `+ Network` to automatically add the Horizen network RPC to your wallet. 2. Click `+ ZEN` to import the native token contract address into your wallet display. ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/c506faccd6a3ab4dc795d7bbd639cb5cce3dcd83cc374834eff02355dabb341c.png) * If your wallet doesn't support automatic network switching, add Horizen Mainnet manually using these parameters: ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/8ec1faf9284aa6ee7bf4c35f6046391c99ebcd7d4ed1533e78e67e1f9a265930.png) ### Step 2: Bridge ETH & ZEN from Base Because Horizen operates on an L3 architecture, your assets need to be moved from Base over to Horizen before staking. Note on ETH Gas: Moving ETH back to Base later takes ~7 days via the Hub. Only bridge a small amount of ETH, just enough to cover a few transaction gas fees. 1. Need Gas Fee Token (ETH)? In the onboarding panel, click `Bridge ETH from Base` . * This opens the official bridge interface to transfer ETH for gas fees (or you may head directly to [https://bridge.horizen.io/](https://bridge.horizen.io/)) ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/b55ce509a07147d44af34f39ee2445ad5180775ab2e18fe8edaabf07faf7b2a3.png) * Set direction: Base → Horizen. Select ETH, enter amount, click `Transfer Tokens` and confirm. (Takes ~1–2 minutes). 2. Need Staking Token (ZEN)? return to the panel and click `Bridge ZEN from Base`  to open [Stargate](https://stargate.finance/?srcChain=base&srcToken=0xf43eB8De897Fbc7F2502483B2Bef7Bb9EA179229&dstChain=horizen&dstToken=0x57da2D504bf8b83Ef304759d9f2648522D7a9280). * Connect wallet and bridge your **ZEN** from **Base → Horizen**. (Fee is 0.06% + Base gas; takes ~2 minutes). ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/f1ba315e71ec11ff5f022ce196a2f8f86bf978938e74d73ef63d01649158d9fe.png) > All onboarding steps for bridging and staking are responsive to your wallet holdings with a green check. ✅ ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/8305da27e49430c224a94428b26cc9288763d7a7bdfb82fc210438138db9921f.png) ### Step 3: Stake Your ZEN 1. Once ETH and ZEN are both in your Horizen Mainnet wallet, scroll down to **My Position** panel. 2. Make sure the `Stake` tab is selected. ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/3ad9761daf672a3a15106e525a5fd8ca1ff754d4dea9f58f37a1a3b0cbbcfc1d.png) 3. Enter the amount of ZEN you wish to lock up, or click the `MAX` button to stake your full balance. 4. click `Add to stake` 5. Approve token spending in your wallet. 6. Confirm the stake in your wallet. 7. Confirm the transaction prompt inside your connected wallet. > **Success!** Once the transaction is confirmed on-chain, your staked balance and real-time yield will immediately update under **My Position**. ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/06d7c0f61c530eda1b0c738d492cd1e1c21cf0d254f7c1f275d9de615acb17a8.png) Managing Your Stake & Unstaking ------------------------------- * **Claiming Rewards:** Click **Claim** to pull earned yield into your wallet without disturbing your staked principal. * **Unstaking ZEN:** Click **Withdraw** to unstake. There is **no lock-up period** for ZEN. * **Bridging Assets Back:** * **ZEN → Base:** Use **Stargate** (Instant). * **ETH → Base:** Use **Hub** (~7-day challenge period + manual claim). Troubleshooting & FAQs ---------------------- Common reasons include: 1. Your wallet is still connected to Base (Chain ID `8453`) instead of Horizen (Chain ID `26514`). 2. You don't have ETH on Horizen to pay for gas. 3. Your ZEN is still sitting on Base or a CEX. 4. You didn't complete the initial **Approve** transaction prompt. Don't panic! Check the following: 1. Ensure your wallet network is switched to **Horizen Mainnet (26514)**. 2. Manually import the ZEN token contract address: `0x57da2D504bf8b83Ef304759d9f2648522D7a9280`. 3. Check your transaction status on Stargate to ensure it completed. Rewards accrue continuously from multiple ecosystem sources: * Horizen DAO – ZEN Bootstrap (Live) * Horizen DAO – ZEN LP Earnings (Live) * zkVerify Node Emissions (Live) * Horizen L3 Sequencer Fees (Live) * Protocol & App Fee Sharing (Onboarding) * Vela Confidential Compute (In Development) _For complete breakdown mechanics, review ZenIP-42408._ **Reference & Official Contracts** ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/772da7774535263fbf0ad4d7986e2fc037222a486c071241fe46170320f2b619.png) As always, should you have any questions on staking, please reach out to the team via the [Horizen Discord.](https://bit.ly/HorizenDisord) --- *Originally published on [Horizen Blog](https://blog.horizen.io/how-to-stake-zen-on-horizen-mainnet)*