What are the warning signs of a high-yield staking scam?

Sustainable on-chain staking yields are bounded by network economics. Ethereum: ~3-5%. Solana: ~6-8%. Cosmos: ~10-15%. Anything above ~20% APY is funded by either (a) inflation that destroys principal value, (b) new deposits (Ponzi), or (c) hidden lending/leverage that can blow up.

Four questions to ask before depositing:

• Who is the counterparty? A smart contract, a custodian, or an unknown LLC?
• Where does the yield come from? If they can't explain it in two sentences, it isn't real.
• Can you withdraw immediately, or is there a 'lock period' that conveniently aligns with the scam's planned exit?
• Has anyone successfully withdrawn at scale? Check on-chain.