Provide liquidity
Providing liquidity (becoming an LP) means depositing a pair of tokens into a pool so others can trade against them. In return you earn trading fees — and if you stake your position, you also earn BARK emissions on top. This is the main way to earn on BarkSwap as a non-locker.
It helps to read Concentrated liquidity, simply first, since that's the model BarkSwap pools use.
The two layers of LP rewards
| Layer | You earn | How |
|---|---|---|
| Trading fees | A cut of every swap in your pool | Automatically, just by holding the position |
| BARK emissions | Freshly minted BARK rewards | Only if you stake your position into the pool's gauge |
So there are really two actions: add liquidity, then stake it. Both are worth doing.
Step 1 — Add liquidity
- Go to Pools in the app and pick the pair you want — or open New position.
- Choose your price range. Tighter = more fees per dollar while in range; wider = keeps earning across bigger price moves. (See the concentrated liquidity page.)
- Enter how much of each token to deposit. The app shows the ratio implied by your range.
- Approve each token (one-time), then confirm the deposit in your wallet.
- You receive a position NFT — your receipt for this liquidity. It now earns trading fees.
Step 2 — Stake your position to earn BARK
Adding liquidity earns fees, but the BARK emissions only flow to staked positions. Staking puts your position NFT into the pool's gauge (the contract that streams emissions).
- Find your position under Positions, or the pool's farm/gauge section.
- Stake the position. You'll approve the gauge to take the NFT, then confirm.
- BARK emissions start accruing. You can claim them any time.
- To stop, unstake — the position NFT returns to you, and you keep earning plain fees.
While staked, the gauge takes custody of your position NFT — that's normal and how it tracks your share of emissions. Your liquidity is still yours; unstake any time to get the NFT back.
How much BARK does a pool emit?
That's decided by votes. Each week, lockers vote on which pools get the biggest slice of emissions. A pool that wins more votes pays its stakers more BARK. This is the link between the two sides of BarkSwap:
If you're an LP, the voters decide how rewarding your pool is. If you also lock and vote, you can steer extra emissions toward the very pool you provide liquidity in — earning emissions as an LP and fees + bribes as a voter.
→ See Lock BARK and Vote to capture both sides.
Managing your position
- Claim fees — collect the trading fees your position has earned, any time.
- Claim emissions — collect accrued BARK from the gauge (only while staked).
- Adjust the range — if the price has drifted out of your band, you can withdraw and re-add at a new range to start earning again.
- Withdraw — remove your liquidity entirely; you get your two tokens back (in whatever ratio the current price implies).
A concentrated position only earns while the price sits inside your chosen range. If it drifts out, your position pauses earning until the price returns or you re-range it. Check in periodically — especially on volatile pairs.