# Opening Stakes When a user opens a new stake, they choose an amount of WISE to stake, and a stake length in days. The minimum stake amount is 0.000000000001 WISE (1000000 YODA). The minimum stake length is one day, and the maximum stake length is 15,330 days (just under 42 years). Once a stake is opened, it is in “Pending” status. This means that the stake won't technically begin until the following day. A user may close a stake in Pending status, receiving back the stake's principal, without penalty or interest. Pending stakes become “Active” status once the next day begins. At this point, closing the stake before it reaches “Mature” status will incur a penalty. When a stake is opened, the WISE tokens staked are actually burned by the contract and converted into “shares”. These shares exist for the life of the stake. Once the stake is closed, the shares are destroyed, and WISE is minted back to the user (along with any interest added and penalties deducted). --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.wisetoken.net/wise-token/wise-ethereum/wise-contract-functionality/circulation-epoch/staking/opening-stakes.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.