Solana stake account guide
How to Transfer a Solana Stake Account to Ledger or Trezor
Move control of a native Solana stake account to a hardware wallet such as Ledger or Trezor without unstaking the SOL. Transfer both the stake authority and withdraw authority to the Solana address secured by your cold wallet. The stake account remains delegated and continues earning rewards during the transfer. You will not miss out on any rewards. The new wallet will start receiving rewards immediately once transferred.
Transfer Stake Account AuthorityStake authority
The stake authority can delegate the account to a validator, deactivate its stake, and change the stake authority. It cannot withdraw SOL unless it also controls the withdraw authority.
Withdraw authority
The withdraw authority can withdraw SOL after the stake becomes inactive and can change both authority roles. Treat this authority as the higher-security key.
How to change a stake account authority
1. Connect the current authority wallet
StakeConsole finds native stake accounts where the wallet is the stake or withdraw authority. A wallet that controls only the stake authority can transfer that role, while the withdraw authority can transfer the withdraw role and may also change the stake authority.
2. Select the correct stake account
Check its address, balance, validator, activation state, and current authority addresses. Transferring authority affects only the selected account; other stake accounts in the wallet are not changed.
3. Verify the destination wallet
Open the Solana account secured by your Ledger, Trezor, or other hardware wallet. Copy its receive address. Enter that address in StakeConsole; the device does not need to be connected to receive authority.
4. Choose which authority to transfer
Choose “Transfer Stake Account” when you intend to give the destination wallet complete control; this transfers both the stake and withdraw authorities. Basically, the Stake Account will be completely transferred to that new wallet.
5. Review and sign the transaction
Confirm the stake account and destination address in your current wallet. If you selected "Transfer Stake Account", both authority changes confirm in the same transaction. If you are using Phantom, it will show a warning to prevent accidental/hidden transfers.
6. Verify the new authorities
After confirmation, open the transaction or stake account on Solscan and check that both authority addresses match the cold-wallet address. Connect the hardware wallet through a compatible Solana wallet interface, then rescan in StakeConsole to confirm that the account appears.
When would you transfer authority?
A cold wallet keeps the keys that can manage and eventually withdraw the staked SOL off an internet-connected device. The stake account itself remains on-chain; transferring its authorities changes which keys control it.
What does the recipient need?
Use a Solana address whose signing path is supported by your hardware wallet and wallet interface. Test that you can reconnect to the same address, and finish the offline recovery-phrase backup, before transferring authority.
Does transferring authority move the staked SOL?
No. An authority change updates the keys permitted to manage the stake account. The stake account address, delegated validator, activation state, and SOL balance remain unchanged. Transferring an authority is different from withdrawing or sending SOL.