Fees
Introduction
StakeWise acts as a middleware between stakers and node operators.
The fee structure ensures sustainable protocol development while maintaining competitive returns for users and fair compensation for Vault operators.
User Net Returns
Vault Fees
A Vault fee is a percentage fee charged by Vault operators on staking rewards. This fee varies by Vault operator and can range from 0% to 100%.
The fee is automatically deducted from staking rewards when the Vault state is updated and is transferred to the Vault’s designated fee recipient (typically the Vault operator).
The fee is a dynamic parameter set during the Vault creation process. Importantly, fees can only be increased by 20% at a time (e.g., from 5% to 6%) with a 3-day delay between updates. If the current fee is 0%, it cannot exceed 1% initially. The Vault must be "harvested" (state updated) before fee changes take effect.
The StakeWise DAO does not charge Vault creators or stakers for using Vaults.
Quick Tip
The fee level for a given Vault can be found in the Details at the bottom of the Vault page. Different Vaults have different fees (e.g., 5%, 4.2%, 100%, 3.5%, etc).
osToken Fees
StakeWise DAO charges a 5% fee on the rewards accumulated by osETH, and continuously applies the fee to the balance of osETH a user must return to the Vault. The fee is charged in osETH, meaning that the amount of osETH a user must return to the Vault constantly increases proportionately to the fee.
How It Works: Fee to osETH Conversion
For example, if a user's stake has accumulated 1 ETH in rewards, StakeWise will apply a 0.05 ETH fee to their osETH balance using the current exchange rate.
At an exchange rate of 1.05 ETH/osETH, the fee corresponds to:
Thus, the user's total minted osETH balance increases by 0.0476 osETH.
Example: Alice's Annual Fee Impact
Alice stakes 10 ETH in a Vault with a 5% Vault fee.
- Her validator earns 0.4 ETH in rewards over a year
- Vault fee:
0.4 × 5% = 0.02 ETH - Direct rewards received: 0.38 ETH
If Alice had minted osETH:
- Additional 5% osETH fee would apply to rewards
- Fee goes to DAO Treasury
- Net rewards after both fees: 0.361 ETH
Additional Network Costs
Vault operators should also be aware of network-related fees required for Beacon Chain operations such as validator registration. These fees are paid directly to the Ethereum network and are separate from StakeWise protocol fees.