APY Vs APR Calculations
The Annual Percentage Yield (APY) and Annual Percentage Rate (APR) are metrics used to express the return on an investment, but they differ in how they account for compounding. APR represents the simple interest rate over a year without accounting for the effect of compounding within that period.
APY, however, reflects the effective annual rate by incorporating the impact of compounding frequency, such as daily or weekly reinvestments. In cryptocurrency, APY is often significantly higher than APR due to the high frequency of compounding enabled by smart contracts.
Investors must distinguish between these two to accurately forecast their potential earnings. Misunderstanding the difference can lead to incorrect expectations regarding the actual growth of a staked position over time.