# 4. Stake Funds

After the Operator program starts running, stake BTC as security deposit to start processing transactions. Operator can unstake the BTC if they behave properly (not acting maliciously and stealing users' funds). Follow these 3 steps to complete staking:

1. **Transfer Funds**

Transfer sufficient BTC to the operator's main address, at least `stake_amount` + `dust` + `gas` BTC.

* `stake_amount` is 0.1 BTC.

***

2. **Stake Funds**

When the operator's main address has enough BTC for staking, and the EVM address has enough FIABTC for gas fee, execute the following command to complete staking:

```
./bcli operator -n mainnet stake
```

* Alternative command using **nohup** (recommended for stability):
  * If you want to run the staking process in the background to avoid terminal disconnection issues, use the following commands:

{% stepper %}
{% step %}
Start the staking process with nohup:

```
nohup ./bcli operator -n mainnet stake > stake.log 2>&1 &
```

{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Get the process ID (will be displayed after running the command):

* The system will show something like: `[1] 12345` (where 12345 is the process ID)
  {% endstep %}

{% step %}
Monitor the progress in real-time:

```
tail -f stake.log
```

{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Check if the staking process is still running:

```
ps aux | grep "bcli operator"
```

{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

***

3. **Check Staking Status**

Check staking status:

```
./bcli query -n mainnet stake -a <MAIN_ADDRESS>
```

When the staking status shows **committee\_signed**, wait for the stake transaction to be confirmed on the blockchain (about 10 minutes), then you can check the operator status:

```
./bcli query -n mainnet operator -a <MAIN_ADDRESS>
```

If the `status` is `Active`, it means the operator has completed the staking process and has started working.


---

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