Summary: This article provides guidance for those who have less than the minimum CERE needed for staking. It explains the options available, including the use of Nomination Pools, which allow staking with as little as 1 CERE.

I Have Less Than the Minimum CERE Needed for Staking

As mentioned in the linked article, there's a dynamic minimum of CERE that you need to have bonded in order to nominate validators and get rewards. If you don't have that amount of CERE, your options for getting rewards while staking solo are limited. But with the introduction of Nomination Pools, things are about to change. Nomination Pools are live on Cere, and everyone can nominate and receive staking rewards with as little as 1 CERE!

What are my options?

If you have already bonded less than the minimum needed

If you have bonded less than the minimum required to nominate and get rewards, you can unbond your CERE and join a nomination pool. Here's how:

1. If you haven't actively supported any validator for the past 28 eras, you can unbond in just a few minutes by following the steps in the linked article. If you had active validators until recently, follow the guide to unbond your tokens in 28 days.
2. Once your CERE is transferable, you can join a nomination pool.

Note: "Fast Unstake" has been implemented on Cere. It allows you to circumvent the unbonding period if the staker was not exposed to any active validator for the last unbonding period (28 eras).

If you haven't bonded your CERE

In that case, things are even simpler. All you have to do is join a nomination pool and start receiving rewards. That's it!