# FAQs

## [1. When will I start earning rewards after staking my ETH?](/eth-staking/staking.md#when-will-i-start-earning-rewards-after-staking-my-eth) &#x20;

## [2. How long does it take to unstake my ETH?](/eth-staking/unstaking.md#how-long-does-it-take-to-unstake-my-eth)

## 3. What are the fees for staking ETH with Stakewithus?

Stakewithus takes a 0% fee on consensus rewards and 25% fee on execution rewards.&#x20;

This results in a 5-7% effective fee depending on network demand for block space and the number of blocks proposed by the validator.

## 4. Why are protocol rewards automatically withdrawn, yet execution rewards have to be manually claimed?

As a non-custodial platform, users control their own withdrawal address to which protocol rewards are automatically sent every [withdrawal sweep](https://ethereum.org/staking/withdrawals#how-soon).

However, in order for Stakewithus to take our share of the fee rewards, execution layer rewards (gas tips/MEV from proposing blocks) are instead sent to a pooling contract to be divided between Stakewithus and the user. Users therefore have to claim their share of execution layer rewards by submitting a claim transaction to this smart contract.

## 5. Which consensus and execution clients do you use?

At Stakewithus, we do our part for Ethereum client diversity by deliberately using minority clients.

|              | Consensus Client | Execution Client |
| ------------ | ---------------- | ---------------- |
| **Primary**  | Lighthouse       | Nethermind       |
| **Fallback** | Teku             | Besu             |

## 6. What are the risks associated with staking ETH?

There are two main [penalties](https://ethereum.org/developers/docs/consensus-mechanisms/pos/rewards-and-penalties#penalties) validators are at risk of when staking ETH - slashing and missing attestations.

### Slashing

[Slashing](https://ethereum.org/developers/docs/consensus-mechanisms/pos/rewards-and-penalties#slashing) occurs when a validator is flagged as behaving maliciously, either through proposing/voting for two blocks (double-signing) or voting for an invalid block. 1/32 of the validator's ETH is immediately slashed and the validator is frozen into a 36 day exit queue, during which they will be penalized for missing attestations.&#x20;

In the event of a mass slashing, a further "correlation penalty" of up to the validator's entire balance is applied depending on the total number of validators slashed. This punishes coordinated attacks on the network while ensuring that isolated slashing incidents receive a smaller penalty.

### Missed Attestations

Validators who miss attestations (offline, latency issues, etc) are penalized an amount of ETH equal to the rewards they would have otherwise earned for voting that epoch. This penalty is relatively minor and the validator will resume earning rewards immediately when they begin attesting again.

However, Ethereum requires a 2/3 supermajority to finalize, and an emergency [inactivity leak](https://ethereum.org/developers/docs/consensus-mechanisms/pos/rewards-and-penalties#inactivity-leak) is activated if the blockchain halts for >4 epochs due to validators missing attestations. In the unlikely even that this happens, all missing validators will have their balance bled at a faster rate until online validators regain a 2/3 supermajority so that the network can recover finality and start producing blocks again.

{% hint style="info" %}
Stakewithus commissions end-to-end [audits](/eth-staking/audits.md) to ensure that best practices are followed for high validator uptime, risk mitigation and security. We have been operating nodes across multiple blockchains since 2019 and have a perfect track record of never being slashed.
{% endhint %}

## 7. Are there plans to enhance yield by integrating the platform with restaking protocols?

We are working on a v2 update for our ETH staking platform and exploring the potential of allowing users to restake their ETH into solutions like [EigenLayer](https://www.eigenlayer.xyz/).

## 8. Which MEV-Boost relays do you use?

Stakewithus uses the following relays to maximize block proposal rewards for all users:

* [Aestus MEV-Boost Relay](https://aestus.live/)
* [Agnostic Boost Relay](https://agnostic-relay.net/)
* [bloXroute Max Profit](http://bloxroute.max-profit.blxrbdn.com/)
* [bloXroute Regulated](http://bloxroute.regulated.blxrbdn.com/)
* [Ultra Sound Relay](https://relay.ultrasound.money/)
* [Wenmerge MEV-Boost Relay](https://relay.wenmerge.com/)


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