IMX Staking Is Live on Immutable zkEVM, but Now You Have to Actually Play

• IMX staking went live on Immutable zkEVM on June 19, 2026 at 00:00 UTC
• Staking on Immutable X ended simultaneously, with final rewards paid out and all funds automatically unstaked
• The new system requires trading at least one NFT per 14-day cycle to earn rewards
• Rewards come from 20% of Immutable's 2% protocol fee, distributed every two weeks
• Reward size depends on amount staked and how long those tokens remained staked during the cycle
• Immutable Passport wallets now work for staking, a first for the new chain
• Approximately 4.8 million IMX has been distributed to stakers since the program launched
• This is the final major milestone in the Immutable X and Immutable zkEVM chain merge

Immutable flipped the switch on June 19, 2026, and the passive era of IMX staking is over. Staking on Immutable X ended on June 19 at 00:00 UTC, with rewards for the 73rd and final epoch distributed and every staked IMX token returned to user wallets automatically. source From that point, staking only exists on Immutable zkEVM, and the rules of the game have changed meaningfully.

What Changed on June 19

The legacy Immutable X staking system rewarded holders who simply locked up their tokens. You staked, you waited, you collected. That model is gone.

The new Immutable zkEVM staking system distributes rewards every 14 days, but only to stakers who traded at least one NFT during that cycle on a marketplace integrated with the Immutable zkEVM orderbook. source Miss the trading requirement, and you earn zero rewards for that cycle regardless of how many tokens you have staked.

Rewards are sourced from 20% of the protocol fees Immutable collects from its 2% marketplace trading fee, and the amount each staker receives scales with both the number of tokens staked and how long they remained staked throughout the cycle. source

Why Immutable Added an Activity Requirement

The design intent is straightforward: Immutable wants staking rewards to flow to people who actively drive value through the ecosystem, not to wallets that bought IMX years ago and have done nothing since.

From Immutable's perspective, this creates a reinforcing loop. Active traders benefit from the marketplace. Active traders earn staking rewards. Those rewards incentivize holding IMX, which supports the token's value. The chain gets more genuine activity.

For players, the message is direct: your IMX rewards now require participation. One NFT trade per two weeks is a very low bar if you are already playing games on the network, but it is a meaningful change for the segment of IMX holders who treated staking as purely passive yield.

The Chain Merge Context

This staking migration is the final major structural change in a months-long project to merge Immutable X and Immutable zkEVM into a single chain. The chain merge gives developers and players a unified environment, eliminating the need to bridge assets between two separate Immutable chains. source

The games that run on Immutable zkEVM include Guild of Guardians, Illuvium, MetalCore, Gods Unchained (partially), and over 500 other titles in various stages of development. IMX stakers are now directly invested in the activity levels of all these games: more NFT trading across the ecosystem means a larger reward pool.

Since the original IMX staking program launched on Immutable X, approximately 4.8 million IMX has been distributed to stakers, averaging roughly 67,605 IMX per week. source

The Passport Wallet Addition

One practical improvement that got less attention: Immutable Passport wallets are now fully supported for staking on Immutable zkEVM. source Passport is Immutable's embedded wallet product designed for players who want to interact with Web3 games without managing a traditional crypto wallet. Getting this wallet type into the staking system removes a friction point that kept some active players out of the program entirely.

Migrating From Immutable X

If you were staking on Immutable X and had not already bridged to Immutable zkEVM before June 19, your staked tokens were automatically returned. They are not lost. The recommended migration path is to bridge directly via Layerswap or bridge through Ethereum first, then move to Immutable zkEVM, and stake from there.

What This Means for Players

The bottom line for active players is this: if you were already trading NFTs in Immutable games, almost nothing changes. You just stake your IMX and continue playing. The one trade per cycle requirement will be met naturally.

The change matters most to two groups. First, passive IMX holders who never interacted with the marketplace face a choice: start trading, or stop earning staking rewards. Second, players who hold IMX but play on other chains (Ronin, Polygon, etc.) and dip into Immutable sporadically may need to make a deliberate effort to qualify each cycle.

In our assessment, this is a healthy structural change. Rewarding active participants over passive holders creates better alignment between token value and ecosystem activity. The bar is low enough that it excludes only the truly disengaged.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I lose my staked IMX if I forget to trade in a cycle?

No. Your staked tokens remain staked and will roll into the next cycle. You simply earn zero rewards for the cycle where you did not meet the trading requirement. The tokens themselves are not at risk.

What counts as a qualifying NFT trade?

The trade must occur on a marketplace that has integrated with the Immutable zkEVM orderbook. This includes major marketplaces purpose-built for Immutable zkEVM games, but not every NFT platform will qualify. Check the official Immutable staking documentation for the current list of eligible marketplaces.

How much IMX do I need to stake to make it worthwhile?

There is no minimum stake. However, rewards scale with your share of the total staked pool. In our assessment, the reward pool size relative to the total staked supply is the key variable. At current IMX prices and trading volumes, smaller stakers should treat rewards as a bonus for participating, not as a primary income source.

Was staking on Immutable X automatically moved to Immutable zkEVM?

No, it was not automatically migrated. Staking on Immutable X ended and funds were returned to your wallet. You must manually bridge your IMX to Immutable zkEVM and set up a new staking position there. This is a deliberate step, not an automatic transfer.