Delegation and Staking on Flare Network

On Flare you can put FLR to work in two main ways: delegate to FTSO data providers, or stake to network validators. Each earns its own rewards, and you can do either or both.

This post replaces our older delegation process overview with current Flare mechanics. For the official Flare Network summary, see Delegate & Stake.

Delegate vs Stake

FlareDrops finished on 30 January 2026. Wrapped, staked, and reward FLR no longer earn FlareDrop distributions. Protocol rewards for FTSO delegation and staking continue as usual.

FTSO Delegation

What it is

Delegation assigns the vote power of your wrapped FLR (WFLR) to one or two data providers. Your tokens stay in your wallet. You can unwrap, transfer, or change providers when you want. Providers use that vote power when submitting FTSO data; when they perform well, you earn a share of FTSO rewards after their fee.

How it works in practice

1. Hold FLR on Flare mainnet (C-Chain, chain ID 14).
2. Wrap FLR 1:1 into WFLR via the WNat contract (AU app, Flare Portal, or a supported wallet).
3. Delegate vote power to one or two data providers (the two-provider cap is a Flare network rule).
4. Rewards accrue each reward epoch. Claim them manually or with auto-claim.

Vote power for a reward epoch is fixed at a lock block. Changes you make apply from the next relevant epoch, not instantly mid-epoch.

Why people delegate

• No lockup and no minimum balance.
• Supports accurate FTSO price feeds that DeFi and other apps rely on.
• Can sit alongside staking if you want both reward streams.

How to choose a provider

Prefer reliability over a headline APR. Check fee (many operators charge up to around 20%), accuracy, consistency, and minimum-condition passes. Vote power rankings often reflect trust better than sorting purely by APR. Live data: Flare Metrics.

Where to delegate

• AU app: wrap, delegate to AU (and a second provider if you want), and manage rewards in one place.
• Flare Portal: official Flare UI for wrap, delegate, and claim.
• Supported wallets such as Bifrost Wallet that expose wrap and delegate flows.

Validator Staking

What it is

Staking locks native FLR on the P-Chain to a validator’s NodeID for a duration you choose. That stake helps secure Flare (Snowman++ consensus) and earns staking rewards. It is separate from WFLR delegation on the C-Chain.

Key rules on Flare mainnet

• Minimum 50,000 FLR per validator stake.
• Minimum duration 14 days; maximum is the validator’s own stake end date.
• Up to 3 validators per address.
• No early unlock: when the end time hits, FLR returns to your P-Chain address.
• You cannot top up an existing position; open another stake instead (subject to mins and the 3-validator limit).
• Stake only up to a validator’s remaining free capacity. Protocol also caps stake per node (currently 300M FLR on Flare mainnet).

Longer stakes do not raise the percentage yield. They simply keep you earning longer without needing to re-stake. There is no auto-restake when a position expires.

How staking works in practice

1. Move FLR from the C-Chain to the P-Chain (cross-chain transfer in the AU app or Flare tooling). Keep a little FLR on both chains for fees.
2. Bind C- and P-Chain addresses if this is your first stake (one-time).
3. Pick a validator, amount (≥ 50k), and end date (≥ 14 days, within the validator’s end time).
4. Confirm the stake. Rewards accrue while the position is active; claim on the usual epoch schedule.

Why people stake

• Supports validators that underwrite the whole network, not only FTSO.
• Complements delegation if you also wrap and delegate WFLR.
• Actively staked FLR is mirrored for governance vote balance; idle unlocked FLR on the P-Chain is not.

How to choose a validator

Look at free space, fee, uptime, self-bond, end time, and reliability signals such as minimum-condition passes. Prefer operators with room for your stake size. Live rankings and capacity: Flare Metrics validators.

Where to stake

• AU app: cross-chain transfer, bind, and stake to AU validators.
• Flare Portal: official staking UI.
• CLI / developer tooling for advanced users.

Claiming Rewards

FTSO and staking rewards are claimed as FLR. You can claim in the AU app, Flare Portal, or explorers that expose claim flows.

Typical Portal-style flow:

1. Open the Flare Portal (or AU app rewards).
2. Connect your wallet and confirm the address.
3. Claim available rewards (main account or delegation account if you use one).
4. Optionally wrap claimed FLR so it can earn again next epoch.

Important for FTSO rewards: unclaimed rewards are burned after 90 days. Claim regularly, or turn on auto-claim.

Newly claimed and wrapped FLR does not increase your locked delegated total until the following reward epoch. To compound, wrap and keep the WFLR delegated.

Auto-Claim

Flare lets you authorize executors that can only trigger claims. They cannot move funds, change delegations, or unstake. Claimed rewards always land in your wallet.

Options include:

• AU app: one transaction enables AU executors for FTSO and staking rewards. Claims run once accrued rewards reach 50 FLR. Registration and each claim cost 4 FLR; free if you delegate 250,000+ FLR to AU or stake 100,000+ FLR to AU validators. Full walkthrough: How to use auto-claim for your Flare rewards.
• Bifrost Wallet: in-app autoclaiming for delegation rewards.
• Flare Portal: add an executor address manually (including wallet claim bots).

Doing Both

Staking and FTSO delegation remain independent today. Staked P-Chain FLR does not replace wrapping and delegating WFLR on the C-Chain if you want both reward streams. Many holders stake a larger locked position for network security and keep a liquid WFLR balance delegated for FTSO rewards.

Quick Checklist

Delegate

1. Wrap FLR → WFLR on the C-Chain.
2. Delegate to one or two data providers.
3. Claim each epoch (or enable auto-claim). Watch the 90-day burn window.

Stake

1. Move FLR to the P-Chain and bind addresses if needed.
2. Stake ≥ 50k FLR for ≥ 14 days to up to three validators.
3. Plan for expiry (no early unlock, no auto-restake).
4. Claim staking rewards manually or via AU auto-claim.

Questions we get often are answered in the FAQ (stake vs delegate, WFLR, claim windows, capacity rules). For hands-on wrap and stake flows, use the AU app or the Flare Portal.