# Staking

#### What does it mean to participate in Governance?

Governance is intended to allow MINTY token holders to influence the direction of Minterest's progress, technically and economically when the functionality is launched. Governance participants will be able to create and vote on existing proposals by utilising voting power based on pre-defined rules. A participant's voting power is determined by the amount of Minterest's native token, MINTY, staked and the duration for which it's staked. 

#### What does staking mean?

Staking is the act of the process of transferring funds from your personal wallet to the protocol contract in return for voting power proportional to others who have staked.

#### How can I stake? *(Manual staking disabled during private launch)*

To start staking, navigate to the "MINTY rewards" section on your "Dashboard" page and click the "Stake" button. Then, enter the amount you wish to stake from your wallet and submit the transaction. Once the transaction is confirmed, your staking will be registered, and you can view your staked balance in the "MINTY rewards" section.\
\
\&#xNAN;*Please note that during Private Launch MINTY is not liquid and cannot be manually staked. However, rewards accrued from supplying/borrowing are automatically staked if governance participation is toggled on. Additionally, any MINTY unlocks for users who participated in the LBP will also be automatically staked.*

#### What are the benefits of staking?

Staking MINTY tokens currently provide governance rewards, also known as buyback rewards, which are calculated based on your share of the entire buyback pool amount (weight). Governance rewards are a redistribution of fees collected back to users in the form of Minterest's native token, MINTY, via Minterest's Buyback engine. Stakeholders with a greater share of staked MINTY will proportionately benefit from greater governance rewards. 

#### How can I withdraw my funds from staking? *(Withdrawal disabled during private launch)*

Simply go to the "Dashboard" page and locate the "MINTY rewards" section. Click on the "Withdraw" button, and a modal will appear displaying two contracts: the rewards contract and the staking contract. Input the amount you want to withdraw, select the desired contract, and submit the transaction. After the transaction is confirmed, your MINTY tokens will be transferred back to your wallet.\
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\&#xNAN;*Please note, that during Private Launch MINTY cannot be withdrawn to user wallets.*

{% hint style="info" %}
If you still have any questions or issues, don't hesitate to contact the Minterest team through the [website](https://minterest.com/) chat or the [Discord](https://discord.gg/NczktNwzf4) and [Telegram](https://t.me/MinterestFinanceChat) channels. We're always here to assist you!
{% endhint %}


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