How to Stake the Solana token (SOL) via Phantom wallet

1. Go to https://stakeview.app/ . As you go down the rows, APY will fall gradually. U are looking for (a) highest "stake" amount (more staked, more safe); and (b) lowest commission (e.g. 0%). Take note of the validator name e.g. "Laine 0% Decentralized Low Stake - We ❤️ Solana". APY estimate is 7.25%  and staked amount is 679.9k SOL. You can click "website" in the same row to see some info about the validator.

2. Next, check the validator's detailed safety score at https://www.validators.app/?locale=en&network=mainnet&order=score&refresh=false

2a. Ensure "Score" button is highlighted (not the "Stake" button). Search the validator name. The search result shd show the score given by the website. Max score is 11. IMPORTANT: Ensure the validator doesn't have any associated warnings, as listed here https://www.validators.app/faq?locale=en&network=mainnet#score . If there are warnings, go back to StakeView.app and pick another validator further down the current row.

3a. Phantom wallet > Solana > click "..." button > Stake SOL > search for the validator i.e. "Laine ..." and select it > enter amount of SOL to stake (note: keep at least 0.01 SOL in your wallet to pay for transaction fees) > STAKE 

3b. Now u may have to wait for the current epoch to finish (this may take between 1 and ~65 hours) (during this time u will see the status "Activating") > Then, staking begins and reward is awarded after completion of each epoch (1 epoch is ~65 hours)

3c. Notes: (a) Validator can change the commission fee any time. If you notice that the reward received for a particular epoch is suddenly lower than expected, the validator could have recently raised the commission. It may be time to switch to a different validator.

3d: Range of statuses: Click "Stake SOL" > status "Activating" > status "Active" > click "Unstake" > status "Deactivating"> status "Inactive" > click "Withdraw Stake"

4. For more background knowledge https://solanacompass.com/staking/staking-on-solana-how-to-stake-your-sol-earn-apy-rewards/ and https://solanabeach.io/validators 

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Validators considered @ 26nov2021

• Softgate (7.17% apy, 0% fee, 427k stake),  score 10/11
• Laine (7.17% apy, 0% fee, 680k stake), score 11/11
• Low Fee Validation (7.16% apy, 0% fee, 1.1M stake), score 8/11
• Stakin (7.15% apy, 0% fee, 679k stake), score 10/11
• joogh validator (7.12% apy, 0% fee, 404k stake), score 11/11
• Parrot.fi (7.10% apy, 1% fee, 291k stake), score 9/11