How Withdrawals Work: Unstaking stLINK, stPOL and stESP
Native Chainlink staking has a 28-day cooldown before you can withdraw. stake.link exits are usually much faster, because withdrawals can be paid from LINK that other users are waiting to stake.
Withdrawing stLINK
Section titled “Withdrawing stLINK”Start a withdrawal at stake.link/withdraw. The protocol fills it in this order:
- Priority Pool liquidity (instant). If the Priority Pool holds LINK queued for staking, your
stLINKis swapped for that LINK straight away. YourstLINKis credited to the queued depositors, who claim it in Priority Staking. - Staking liquidity (instant, when available). If instant withdrawals are enabled and nobody is waiting in the withdrawal queue, LINK that is already withdrawable from the staking pool is paid out directly.
- Withdrawal queue. The rest joins a first-in, first-out queue in the Withdrawal Pool. The queue is filled as new LINK is deposited into the Priority Pool and as LINK becomes withdrawable from Chainlink staking. The FundFlowController unbonds vaults on a continuous cycle so that some LINK is always close to withdrawable. Once your queued withdrawal is filled, claim your LINK on stake.link.
Amounts below the Withdrawal Pool’s minimum can’t be queued. If the remainder is too small, it’s returned to you as stLINK.
As a result, LINK withdrawals usually complete within 1 to 7 days, and instantly when the Priority Pool has enough LINK.
Exit immediately on Curve
Section titled “Exit immediately on Curve”If you need LINK right away, swap stLINK for LINK in the stLINK/LINK Curve pool. You receive the market rate, which can be slightly below 1:1.
Withdrawing stPOL
Section titled “Withdrawing stPOL”Request a withdrawal of stPOL on stake.link/withdraw on Ethereum. The unbonding period is typically 3–4 days while the state between Polygon and Ethereum is confirmed. On Polygon PoS, you can instead swap wstPOL for WPOL in the Curve pool.
Withdrawing stESP
Section titled “Withdrawing stESP”Request a withdrawal on stake.link/withdraw to redeem stESP for ESP. How long it takes depends on the current queue and available liquidity.
Withdrawing SDL
Section titled “Withdrawing SDL”SDL staked in the SDLPool has different rules. Unlocked SDL can be withdrawn at any time. Locked SDL needs an unlock period first. See What is reSDL?.