Staking means locking crypto assets in a proof-of-stake blockchain for a specified period of time. These locked crypto assets are then used to secure the blockchain network and at the same time to ensure the validity of each new transaction to be entered into the blockchain. Crypto-assets are thus used to build the consensus required to validate transactions. Whoever stakes coins in a Proof of Stake (PoS) blockchain is called a "validator" in most blockchains. As a reward for staking assets and providing services to that blockchain, validators receive new coins from the network. Comparable to the interest that an asset management company pays when you park your money there. The correctness of transactions on Proof of Stake (PoS) blockchains is thus confirmed by people (validators) who hold a certain amount of cryptocurrency in the protocol.
