# Polkadot Staking: DOT Staked, Nominators and Nomination Pools

> Polkadot staking: DOT staked and the staking ratio, nominators and pool members, active validators, era rewards and the minimum active nomination.

Markdown copy of https://voltfincrypto.com/apps/polkadot-staking-dot-nominators

**Question:** How much DOT is staked and by how many nominators, and what does it take to earn rewards?

- Kind: Dashboard in Voltfin Vantage
- Topic: [Staking and restaking](https://voltfincrypto.com/topics/staking)
- Chains: Polkadot
- Status: Planned. The data is not published yet, so this page states no figure; each figure will open its receipt when it is.

Polkadot stakes through nominations: DOT holders bond DOT and back validators, and every era the chain elects an active set and spreads the nominators' stake across it. This dashboard reads Polkadot's staking state each era to show how much DOT is staked, by how many nominators and pool members, which validators were elected and what the era paid.

Polkadot staking has a floor that surprises newcomers: a direct nomination earns nothing unless it is large enough to enter the election, and the minimum to get in changes every era. Nomination pools exist so smaller holders can stake together, and the dashboard shows that minimum each era beside pool membership.

Staking has run on Polkadot Asset Hub since late 2025, and governance has since approved changes to unbonding and to nominator slashing, so the dashboard reads the parameters in force at each era from the chain rather than assuming them. Every figure names the era and block behind it.

## Blueprint

### Stake

DOT staked, nominators, pools and what each era paid.

- **DOT staked** (DOT): DOT bonded by validators, direct nominators and nomination pools at the last block of the latest era.
- **Share of DOT staked** (%): DOT staked as a share of total DOT issuance at the same block.
- **Direct nominators** (count): Accounts nominating validators directly in the latest election.
- **Nomination pool members** (count): Accounts with DOT in a nomination pool at the latest era.
- **Rewards per era** (DOT): DOT paid each era, split into validator commission and the rewards shared with nominators.
- **Bonded and unbonding DOT** (DOT): DOT bonded and DOT unbonding by era, with history from before the move to Asset Hub read on the relay chain.

### Validators

The active set, its backing and the minimum that earns rewards.

- **Active validators** (count): Validators elected into the active set for the current era.
- **Minimum active nomination** (DOT): The smallest direct nomination included in the latest election; below it, a direct nominator earns nothing that era.
- **Backing per validator** (DOT): Total stake behind each active validator in the current era, sorted, showing how evenly the election spread it.
- **Validators in the active set**: Each active validator with its self-stake, total backing, nominator count, commission and era points in the last era.

Filters: Period (Last 30, 90 or 365 eras).

## How it will be measured

- Bonded DOT, nominations and pool state are read from the staking and nomination pool pallets on Asset Hub at the last block of each era; earlier eras come from the relay chain's staking pallet.
- The active set and each validator's backing come from the era's election result, the exposure records for that era.
- Era rewards are the era's reward payout and each validator's era points, split into commission and nominator shares the way the payout does.
- The staking ratio divides bonded DOT by total issuance at the same block.

## Data it needs

- `staking_networks_daily` (to build): Staked supply, staking ratio, validators and nominal rewards per proof-of-stake network per day.
- Source: Asset Hub staking pallet: bonded ledgers, nominations, era exposures and payouts at the last block of each era
- Source: Nomination pools pallet: pools, members and their bonded and unbonding balances
- Source: Era reward points and validator commission for each era
- Source: Relay chain staking state for eras before the move to Asset Hub
- Source: Total DOT issuance at the same blocks

## Questions

### How does Polkadot staking work?

DOT holders bond DOT and nominate validators, up to 16 each. Every era the chain runs an election that picks the active validators and spreads nominators' stake across them as evenly as it can. Rewards are paid per era to the active validators and their nominators, after each validator's commission.

### What is a nomination pool?

A pool that bonds many members' DOT together and nominates as one account, so holders with too little DOT to nominate directly still earn rewards. Members can join with a small amount, and the pool's operator picks its validators.

### What is the minimum DOT needed to earn staking rewards?

For direct nomination, the bond must be above the minimum active nomination, which moves every era with how many nominators compete for a place in the election. Nomination pools have a much lower entry amount. The dashboard shows the current minimum each era.

### How long does it take to unstake DOT?

Unbonded DOT has to wait out an unbonding period before it can be withdrawn. Polkadot governance approved changes in 2026 to shorten that wait and to stop slashing nominators, so the dashboard reads the period in force at each era from the chain's parameters instead of assuming it.

### Where does Polkadot staking happen now?

Since late 2025, staking has run on Polkadot Asset Hub: bonding, nominations, pools and payouts are recorded there, while validators still secure the relay chain. The dashboard reads Asset Hub for recent eras and the relay chain for the history before the move.

## Glossary

- **Era**: Polkadot's staking period, about a day long, after which rewards are calculated and a newly elected validator set takes over.
- **Nominated proof of stake**: Polkadot's staking design, where nominators back validators with their DOT and share in their rewards and risks.
- **Era points**: Points validators earn during an era for producing blocks and other work, which decide how the era's rewards are split.
- **Minimum active nomination**: The smallest direct nomination included in the latest election; nominations below it earn no rewards that era.
- **Asset Hub**: A Polkadot system chain that has held balances, staking and governance since its migration in late 2025.

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- [Staking Yield and Staking Ratio by Chain](https://voltfincrypto.com/apps/staking-yield-by-chain)
- [Layer 1 Blockchain List: Activity, Fees and Staking](https://voltfincrypto.com/apps/layer-1-blockchain-list)
- [Cosmos Hub Staking: ATOM Staked, Validators and Bonded Ratio](https://voltfincrypto.com/apps/cosmos-hub-atom-staking)
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- [Total ETH Staked and Ethereum Staking Ratio](https://voltfincrypto.com/apps/total-eth-staked)
- [Staking Monthly Report: ETH, SOL and Proof-of-Stake Networks](https://voltfincrypto.com/apps/staking-monthly-report)

Build it in Voltfin Studio: https://app.voltfincrypto.com/signup?next=%2F