Acurast Staked Compute: Is the 7x Reward Pool Worth It?

Most people running Acurast phones are earning from one reward pool. There is a second pool that is seven times larger. It is called the Staked Compute Pool, and most people who are just starting out have not touched it yet. This post explains what it is, how the numbers look with real examples, and whether it makes sense for you to use it.

Two Reward Pools

There are two separate pools that distribute ACU rewards.

The first is the Compute Pool. This is what almost everyone uses. Every epoch, which is roughly every 90 minutes, 856 ACU gets distributed across all phones on the network based on each phone's benchmark score. As more phones join the network, each phone gets a smaller share of that fixed pool. This is why earnings per phone change over time.

The second is the Staked Compute Pool. This pays out over 5,900 ACU per epoch. Seven times larger than the regular pool. Accessing it requires staking your compute, which means committing to provide a guaranteed amount of computing power for a set period of time. On top of that, you can optionally stake ACU tokens to increase your reward rate further.

The Catch

The tradeoff is that if you cannot meet your committed compute during the staking period, your stake can be slashed. This means you need a setup that runs reliably without interruptions. If your phone gets turned off sometimes, loses connection, or gets moved around, staking carries real risk.

Also, when you decide to end your staking period and start the cooldown, your staking rewards are reduced by 50% during that cooldown window. Watch the official staking video from Acurast before setting this up.

Real Examples from the Network

These were real active staking positions from April 2026. Earnings change with ACU price and network size, so treat these as reference points rather than current quotes.

Example 1: Just under 5,000 ACU staked with a cooldown of about two and a half months. APR of 1.46%, giving about 5.85 ACU per month, worth around 56 cents on top of regular mining rewards.

Example 2: Nearly 18,000 ACU staked with a seven and a half month cooldown. APR of 4.33%, giving around 64 ACU per month, worth about $6 on top of mining.

Example 3: Over 61,000 ACU staked with a 14-month cooldown. APR of 8.11%, giving around 411 ACU per month, worth roughly $39 on top of mining at that time.

The pattern is clear: longer lockup periods give significantly higher APRs. The trade-off is committing your ACU and hardware reliability for longer.

Who Should Use Staked Compute?

If you are just starting out, staked compute is not the right move yet. Mine for a few months first, accumulate ACU, and see how your setup holds up. Once you have a stable setup that runs without stops, you can look at adding staked compute.

When you do start, go conservative. A shorter cooldown with a smaller stake to test the process before committing to a longer lockup.

Budget phones at current rewards are only worth running if you already own them. But premium phones and larger setups make the staking math more interesting, especially on a longer time horizon. For more on earnings by phone type, see the Acurast earnings breakdown.

Getting Started with Acurast

If you are not running Acurast yet, start with the free Acurast Lite Processor app. Setup takes about two minutes. The setup tutorial walks through the whole process. Also join the Cloud Rebellion with referral code mg3gif to earn MIST points on top of your ACU rewards.

If you want to run a dedicated multi-phone setup, Cellhasher makes hardware boxes designed specifically for Acurast phone farms. Official Acurast partner, made in the US. Use code NORDIC for 5% off.