In nominal terms, staking crypto does provide a return on investment. However, whether this return is profitable depends on a number of factors. Most importantly, the payouts are in the digital asset that is being staked. This means your actual return could be low if the digital asset’s value plummets during your stake. Users must also consider the rate of inflation of these digital assets to determine the true yield. Solana, for instance, has an annual inflation rate of 4.3%, which effectively reduces the real yield of staking SOL.