How to Claim and Compound GMX Staking Rewards
Risk warning. Trading perpetual futures and other leveraged crypto-asset products is high risk. A large share of retail traders lose money, so never trade with money you cannot afford to lose entirely. Disclaimer
“Claim” and “Compound” aren’t just cosmetic button labels on GMX’s Earn page, they do genuinely different things depending on which of your three reward types you’re acting on.
This guide closes out this stretch of TradeOnDEX’s GMX how-to series within Perpetual Futures, building on staking GMX and vesting esGMX.
Disclosure: TradeOnDEX may earn a commission from links to GMX on this page, at no extra cost to you. Full details at the end of this article.
What Claim and Compound actually do, per reward type
- ETH/AVAX fee rewards: claiming transfers them directly to your wallet balance, immediately usable. There’s no compounding option here since it’s already a liquid, non-token reward.
- esGMX: you choose between claiming it (starting the 365-day vesting process into regular GMX, covered in the vesting guide) or compounding it (staking it directly for further rewards, with no vesting delay).
- Multiplier Points: compounding stakes them for additional fee rewards; they don’t have a separate “claim” path the way esGMX does, since they aren’t convertible into a standalone token.
This means for you, concretely: “claim” and “compound” aren’t interchangeable actions across your reward types, using the wrong one for your actual goal (say, claiming esGMX when you meant to compound it) sends that specific reward down a materially different path.
How to claim or compound rewards, step by step
- Go to the Earn page and find the Total Rewards section.
- Review each reward type shown separately (ETH/AVAX, esGMX, Multiplier Points) before acting.
- For ETH/AVAX rewards, click Claim to transfer them to your wallet.
- For esGMX, choose deliberately: Claim starts the 365-day vesting clock; Compound stakes it immediately for further rewards instead.
- Confirm the transaction in your wallet and wait for confirmation.
Risk: what mixing these up actually costs you
Claiming esGMX when you meant to compound it commits that specific amount to a year-long vesting process, plus the reserve requirement covered in the vesting guide. This isn’t easily reversible. Check which action you’re taking before confirming, not after.
Compounding maximizes your future reward rate but delays realizing any of that value as liquid, transferable GMX. There’s a genuine trade-off between compounding for growth and claiming/vesting toward eventual liquidity, neither choice is objectively correct, it depends on your own time horizon and liquidity needs.
Every claim or compound action is an on-chain transaction with its own gas cost. Frequent small claims can accumulate meaningful gas costs over time relative to the reward amount being claimed, consider how often it’s actually worth transacting versus letting rewards accrue before acting.
A staking or reward-mechanics change from GMX governance can alter this workflow over time. As with other tokenomics details in this series, treat the current Claim/Compound structure as the present system, subject to future governance adjustment, not a permanently fixed interface.
Claim vs. Compound, per reward type
| Reward type | Claim | Compound |
|---|---|---|
| ETH/AVAX | Transfers to wallet, immediately liquid | Not applicable, already liquid |
| esGMX | Starts 365-day vesting into regular GMX | Stakes directly for further rewards, no vesting delay |
| Multiplier Points | Not applicable as a separate token | Stakes for additional fee rewards |
See it for yourself
Before your first claim or compound action, review exactly which reward type you’re acting on and what that specific action does to it, the Earn page shows each reward category separately for this reason. You can review your current rewards at gmx.io.
Frequently asked questions
What’s the difference between claiming and compounding esGMX?
Claiming starts the 365-day vesting process toward regular GMX; compounding stakes it immediately for further rewards without starting vesting.
Can I compound my ETH or AVAX fee rewards?
No, they’re already a liquid reward; claiming transfers them directly to your wallet, and there’s no separate compounding path for this reward type.
Does claiming esGMX immediately give me transferable GMX?
No, it starts a 365-day vesting process; you receive transferable GMX gradually over that period, not immediately.
Is there a cost to claiming or compounding frequently?
Yes, each action is an on-chain transaction with its own gas cost, so frequent small actions can add up relative to the reward amount involved.
Affiliate disclosure
TradeOnDEX may earn a commission if you sign up or trade through a link on this page, at no extra cost to you. GMX’s own affiliate/referral terms are still being confirmed for this site, so links here are direct and untracked for now. This article is educational and is not financial advice. See our disclaimer for the full risk warning.
Risk warning
Trading crypto assets, and leveraged products based on them such as perpetual futures ("perps"), is high risk. A large share of retail traders lose money on these products. Leverage magnifies gains and losses alike and can push your loss beyond the amount you put in. Positions can be closed automatically (liquidation) before you get a chance to react, and some of the platforms we cover offer no negative balance protection.
Never trade with money you cannot afford to lose entirely. TradeOnDEX gives no investment advice, no personal recommendation, and no guarantee of any outcome. Every decision you make is your own decision and your own responsibility.