# 3. Deposit and Stake

Deposit sufficient amount of BTC to help process transactions (sBTC for testnet). The operator is required to stake 1 BTC as a security deposit before processing transactions (the 1 BTC is time-locked and self-custody, kept under operator's address). If an operator is found acting maliciously (e.g. attempting to steal funds), the deposit will be slashed as a penalty. The deposit can be unstaked when the operator chooses to exit. 

Here's how to deposit and stake:

1. **Deposit Funds**

Transfer sufficient BTC to the operator's main address. To successfully complete the staking, you need at least `stake_amount` + `dust` + `gas` BTC.

* Note: Fiamma Operator is running on **Bitcoin Signet** during testnet. Please deposit **sBTC** to the main address.

> Currently, `stake_amount` is 1 BTC, so deposit at least 1.00001 BTC. Since subsequent work requires 12 BTC, we recommend an operator to transfer at least 13.00001 BTC initially.

2. **Stake Funds**

When the operator's main address has sufficient BTC, execute the following command to complete staking:

```
./bcli operator -n beta-testnet stake
```

Check staking status:

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

Once the staking status shows `committee_signed`, wait around 10 minutes for the transaction to be confirmed on-chain. After that, you can check your operator status:

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

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