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Executive Summary
- Staking on Solana, similar to Ethereum staking, can be generally divided into the following types: Staking-as-a-Service (STaaS), liquid staking, staking with centralised exchanges, and solo staking.
- Of the total SOL supply, 67% is staked, and liquid staking takes up 7% of the share (the rest in native staking). Because of the network infrastructure, Ethereum has a staking ratio of 29%, with liquid staking the most popular way at ~31% share.
- Market capitalisation of liquid staking tokens on Solana surged 14x from ~US$360 million in October 2022 to $5.3 billion at the end of October 2024. The liquid staking ratio doubled its share from ~3% in October 2022 to ~7% in October 2024.
- The top three liquid staking players take up 73% of the market share. Jito is the largest player (44%), followed by Marinade Finance (17%), and Jupiter (12%).
- Marinade was the first liquid staking protocol on Solana, having a dominant market position from August 2021 to November 2023. It provides both liquid staking and native staking options, and has a richer network of DeFi integrations than Jito.
- Jito overtook Marinade as the largest liquid staking protocol on Solana in November 2023. It leveraged Jito-Solana, the first third-party, maximum extractable value (MEV)-boosted validator client for Solana to share and optimise MEV rewards for users.
- Sanctum Infinity is a unified liquidity layer for Solana liquid staking tokens (LSTs). Its Infinity multi-LST liquidity pool currently supports 75 LSTs (including jitoSOL, mSOL, and jupSOL), and enables swaps across the various trading pairs. Effectively, Sanctum lowers the barrier to entry to create new LSTs.
- Solana is considered more centralised than Ethereum in terms of the number of validators to secure the networks. Currently, Solana has 1,387 validators active on the mainnet, and 18 of them together make up 33.33% of the total SOL staked (called a ‘superminority’, which could together halt the Solana network). Although Ethereum has more than 1 million validators with ~29% staking ratio, most of the staking power is concentrated in the top players like Lido (28%), which also raises centralisation concerns.
1. Introduction
Staking means locking up capital to secure blockchain networks in return for yield. It is an important part of Proof of Stake (PoS) blockchains — like Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL) — which consist of a network of validators to ensure the transactions are verified and secured.
Stakers earn yield on the staked SOL when they delegate tokens to validators, and validators’ votes are stake-weighted on Solana, which means the more SOL staked with the validator, the more influence one has in the consensus process. This translates to higher chances to be chosen to verify transactions and, hence, more potential rewards.
Similar to Ethereum, Solana staking can be generally divided into the following types:
- Staking-as-a-Service (STaaS) is when users delegate SOL directly to a validator, and the SOL is locked up; there is an unstaking period, which generally is 1 epoch (2–3 days).
- Liquid staking combines staking with liquidity. Users delegate SOL to a liquidity pool and, in return, receive liquid staking tokens (LSTs) that represent the staked SOL. LSTs can be used in various DeFi applications and are not locked up.
- Staking with centralised exchanges (CEXs) is when users allow a CEX to manage the staking process on their behalf.
- Solo staking is when users run their own validators, and users are eligible to receive 100% of the staking rewards without sharing it with other intermediaries. There is no strict minimum amount of SOL required to run a validator, although there are reserve requirements and costs associated with voting. (A vote account, which has a rent-exempt reserve of 0.02685864 SOL, is required to participate in consensus. Voting also requires sending a vote transaction for each block the validator agrees with, which can cost up to 1.1 SOL per day.)
At the time of writing, 67% of the total SOL supply is staked, and 7% of that is in liquid staking. Ethereum, meanwhile, has a staking ratio of 29%, with a liquid staking ratio of ~31%. One of the potential reasons for this difference is that SOL holders can directly delegate their tokens to validators with a minimum amount of 0.01 SOL and a withdrawal period of 2–4 days; this is more flexible for stakers than Ethereum. On the other hand, Ethereum has a minimum requirement of 32 ETH in order to become a solo staker with a variable unbonding period (~5 days). This has resulted in Ethereum holders (without 32 ETH) opting for staking pools (pooling together small amounts of ETH), including liquid staking platforms (for example, Lido), which explains the higher liquid staking ratio on Ethereum. In addition, Ethereum staking withdrawals were only enabled in April 2023 with the Shanghai/Capella upgrade.
This report looks into the notable players in both liquid staking and native staking on Solana.
2. Native Staking on Solana
Solana currently has 1,387 validators active on the mainnet, with 18 validators making up the ‘superminority’. This refers to the “minimum number of nodes on the network that would need to be simultaneously compromised in order to censor new transactions or prevent new blocks from being added to the blockchain,” (the minimum number of validators that make up 33.33% of the total stake on Solana).
Validators in the superminority include Solana liquid staking protocols (e.g., Jupiter, Jito) and centralised exchanges, as well as staking providers (e.g., Figment, Kiln). The largest validator, Helius, takes up 3.25% of the stake. Below are the top 10 validators with the largest stake on Solana (at the time of writing):
| # | Validator | Stake (# of SOL in millions / %) | Commission |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Helius | 12.8M / 3.25% | 0% |
| 2 | Galaxy | 12.7M / 3.21% | 5% |
| 3 | Coinbase 02 | 11.9M / 3.01% | 8% |
| 4 | Figment | 10.7M / 2.72% | 7% |
| 5 | Ledger by Figment | 9.7M / 2.46% | 7% |
| 6 | P2P.org | 7.8M / 1.97% | 7% |
| 7 | Binance Staking | 7.3M / 1.84% | 8% |
| 8 | Everstake | 6.6M / 1.66% | 7% |
| 9 | Jupiter Validator | 5.7M / 1.44% | 0% |
| 10 | G9x1…j6TY | 5.6M / 1.43% | 100% |
| Total | 90.8M / 22.99% |
| # | 1 |
|---|---|
| Validator | Helius |
| Stake (# of SOL in millions / %) | 12.8M / 3.25% |
| Commission | 0% |
| # | 2 |
| Validator | Galaxy |
| Stake (# of SOL in millions / %) | 12.7M / 3.21% |
| Commission | 5% |
| # | 3 |
| Validator | Coinbase 02 |
| Stake (# of SOL in millions / %) | 11.9M / 3.01% |
| Commission | 8% |
| # | 4 |
| Validator | Figment |
| Stake (# of SOL in millions / %) | 10.7M / 2.72% |
| Commission | 7% |
| # | 5 |
| Validator | Ledger by Figment |
| Stake (# of SOL in millions / %) | 9.7M / 2.46% |
| Commission | 7% |
| # | 6 |
| Validator | P2P.org |
| Stake (# of SOL in millions / %) | 7.8M / 1.97% |
| Commission | 7% |
| # | 7 |
| Validator | Binance Staking |
| Stake (# of SOL in millions / %) | 7.3M / 1.84% |
| Commission | 8% |
| # | 8 |
| Validator | Everstake |
| Stake (# of SOL in millions / %) | 6.6M / 1.66% |
| Commission | 7% |
| # | 9 |
| Validator | Jupiter Validator |
| Stake (# of SOL in millions / %) | 5.7M / 1.44% |
| Commission | 0% |
| # | 10 |
| Validator | G9x1…j6TY |
| Stake (# of SOL in millions / %) | 5.6M / 1.43% |
| Commission | 100% |
| # | |
| Validator | Total |
| Stake (# of SOL in millions / %) | 90.8M / 22.99% |
| Commission |
On the other hand, Ethereum is more decentralised, with more than 1 million validators. Lido, which has 28% market share in ETH staked, is supported by 303,000 validators.
| Ethereum | Solana | |
|---|---|---|
| Staking Ratio | 29% | 67% |
| Native Staking % (non-liquid stake) | 69% | 93% |
| Validators | 1,084,731 | 1,387 |
| Distribution | 18 validators take up 33.3% share | 303,000 validators take up 28% share (Lido) |
| Staking Ratio | |
| Ethereum | 29% |
| Solana | 67% |
| Native Staking % (non-liquid stake) | |
| Ethereum | 69% |
| Solana | 93% |
| Validators | |
| Ethereum | 1,084,731 |
| Solana | 1,387 |
| Distribution | |
| Ethereum | 18 validators take up 33.3% share |
| Solana | 303,000 validators take up 28% share (Lido) |
3. Liquid Staking on Solana
3.1 Overview
Market capitalisation of LSTs on Solana surged 14x, from ~$360 million in October 2022 to $5.3 billion at the end of October 2024. The liquid staking ratio doubled its share from ~3% in October 2022 to ~7% in October 2024. This is driven by the rise of liquid staking platforms since 2021, which have offered SOL holders the flexibility to simultaneously earn yields and utilise their LSTs in DeFi.
The dominance of the top three liquid staking providers has fallen from 95% in January 2024 to 73% in October. Jito is the largest player (44%), followed by Marinade Finance (17%), and Jupiter (12%). Notably, Jupiter exchange’s jupSOL was launched this year and has risen to become the third-largest liquid staking player. The table below provides a comparison of the major players in Solana liquid staking:
| Jito | Marinade | Jupiter | Sanctum | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LST | JitoSOL | mSOL | jupSOL | INF |
| LST Market Cap | $2.3B | $924M | $641M | $195M |
| Yield | 8.00% | 8.09% (native)7.98% (liquid) | 8.86% | 8.47% |
| Fees | Unstaking: 0.1%Rewards: 4% | Instant Unstaking: (0.1%–9%)Rewards: 0% | Unstaking: 0%Rewards: 0% | Swap Fees: Dynamic depending on stake pool |
| # of Validators | 202 | 100+ | 1 | N/A |
| DeFi Integrations | 9 | 20+ | Multiple protocols across lending, liquidity pools | Armada, MarginFi, Solend, and AMMs in Solana |
| Features | Using MEV-boosted validators to share rewards with stakersStakeNet (decentralised stake pool manager to enhance transparency) Introduced restaking in July 2024 | Offers both native staking and liquid staking Uses validators that run the MEV-optimised Jito validator client to share MEV rewards with stakersProtected Staking Rewards (PSR) to protect stakers against validators’ downtime risk | Launched in partnership with Sanctum Provides staking yields and MEV kickbacksJupiter team delegated 100K SOL with rewards distributed to jupSOLSynergies with Jupiter as a DEX (higher validator stake increases priority for transactions to be processed) | Infinity multi-LST liquidity pool supports an infinite number of LSTs and enables swapsSanctum Reserve Pool to provide liquidity for LSTs |
| LST | |
| Jito | JitoSOL |
| Marinade | mSOL |
| Jupiter | jupSOL |
| Sanctum | INF |
| LST Market Cap | |
| Jito | $2.3B |
| Marinade | $924M |
| Jupiter | $641M |
| Sanctum | $195M |
| Yield | |
| Jito | 8.00% |
| Marinade | 8.09% (native)7.98% (liquid) |
| Jupiter | 8.86% |
| Sanctum | 8.47% |
| Fees | |
| Jito | Unstaking: 0.1%Rewards: 4% |
| Marinade | Instant Unstaking: (0.1%–9%)Rewards: 0% |
| Jupiter | Unstaking: 0%Rewards: 0% |
| Sanctum | Swap Fees: Dynamic depending on stake pool |
| # of Validators | |
| Jito | 202 |
| Marinade | 100+ |
| Jupiter | 1 |
| Sanctum | N/A |
| DeFi Integrations | |
| Jito | 9 |
| Marinade | 20+ |
| Jupiter | Multiple protocols across lending, liquidity pools |
| Sanctum | Armada, MarginFi, Solend, and AMMs in Solana |
| Features | |
| Jito | Using MEV-boosted validators to share rewards with stakersStakeNet (decentralised stake pool manager to enhance transparency) Introduced restaking in July 2024 |
| Marinade | Offers both native staking and liquid staking Uses validators that run the MEV-optimised Jito validator client to share MEV rewards with stakersProtected Staking Rewards (PSR) to protect stakers against validators’ downtime risk |
| Jupiter | Launched in partnership with Sanctum Provides staking yields and MEV kickbacksJupiter team delegated 100K SOL with rewards distributed to jupSOLSynergies with Jupiter as a DEX (higher validator stake increases priority for transactions to be processed) |
| Sanctum | Infinity multi-LST liquidity pool supports an infinite number of LSTs and enables swapsSanctum Reserve Pool to provide liquidity for LSTs |
3.2 Major Players
Jito
Jito launched its liquid staking function in late 2022, overtaking Marinade as the largest liquid staking protocol on Solana by LST market capitalisation in November 2023. This coincided with the launch of its points programme in September 2023 and airdrop of JTO in December 2023.
Jito pioneered Jito-Solana, the first third-party, maximum extractable value (MEV)-boosted validator client for Solana, which is currently run by 89% of Solana validators. MEV refers to value extracted from reordering, inserting, or censoring transactions when producing a block on the blockchain network. Jito simulates transaction combinations to find the highest MEV-yielding sequence of transactions (or bundles) for block inclusion, which increases potential revenue to validators and benefits stakers after validators deduct commission.
Another feature is StakeNet, a decentralised stake pool manager that aims to ensure security and transparency of JitoSOL. The Steward Program scores and ranks all Solana validators according to metrics including yield, commission, and uptime performances. Subsequently, the programme delegates stake distribution amongst the top ~200 validators for JitoSOL.
Jito also released the code for its open-source restaking programme in July 2024, inviting projects to build restaking services on the platform. All in all, Jito has a first mover advantage in sharing and optimising MEV rewards for users. As Solana network activities continue to grow, there will potentially be more MEV captured, which can highlight the competitive advantages of Jito.
Marinade
Marinade, launched in August 2021, was the first liquid staking protocol on Solana. Its TVL peaked in January 2022 at ~9.0 million SOL, but has gradually decreased to 5.4 million (at the time of writing). Marinade was mainly challenged by Lido (stSOL), which stopped supporting Solana staking in October 2023, and subsequently Jito (jitoSOL).
One unique feature of Marinade is that it provides both liquid staking and native staking options. It launched Marinade Native in July 2023, a native staking solution that provides automated validator designation without the use of smart contracts. Marinade also stakes to validator nodes running the Jito validator client; hence, users staking with Marinade also share MEV rewards.
Although Marinade’s market-leading position was overtaken by Jito in November 2023, it has recently launched new features, including the Stake Auction Marketplace (SAM), which allows validators to bid on stakers’ deposits with the chance of earning more rewards. Stakers benefit by receiving extra rewards from the bids made by validators. Under this feature, APYs are meant to converge to the “auction winning APY” resulting from the validators’ bids, which is currently at 9.38%, higher than the average 7%–8% provided by other LSTs.
Sanctum
Sanctum Infinity is a unified liquidity layer for Solana LSTs. Since Infinity went live in March 2024, its TVL has grown to $1.3 billion, the sixth-largest on Solana, according to DefiLlama.
Its Infinity multi-LST liquidity pool currently supports 75 LSTs on its website and enables swaps across the various trading pairs. In addition, the Sanctum Reserve Pool, with 410,000 SOL currently in the pool, is available to all LSTs and can support instant unstakes. This is significant because all LSTs, big or small, are able to enjoy enhanced liquidity and reduced slippage. Effectively, Sanctum lowers the barrier to entry to create new LSTs by working with various projects (e.g., Jupiter’s jupSOL, BONK’s bonkSOL, Drift’s dSOL, etc.).
Moreover, users can deposit their LSTs and receive the Infinity (INF) LST, which can be used in various DeFi applications. INF accrues staking rewards (combination of yields from the LST basket) and trading fees from the pool. Overall, by levelling the playing field in LSTs and increasing LST issuances, Sanctum facilitates decentralisation in the Solana network.
4. Conclusion
Solana’s liquid staking ratio is still low at 7%, especially when compared to Ethereum’s 31%, suggesting a significant growth opportunity. If Solana reaches the same effective liquid staking ratio (calculated by the staking ratio multiplied by the liquid staking percentage) as Ethereum, it will represent a potential 2.3x growth, or a $12 billion market (at the time of writing).
In addition to the increase in penetration rates, we believe liquid staking protocols will continue to thrive as the overall Solana ecosystem and DeFi landscape grow. Lastly, following in the footsteps of Ethereum, restaking solutions may be the next step following a more robust LST environment on Solana. According to DefiLlama, Solayer, one of the leading restaking protocols on Solana, is the 14th-largest protocol on Solana, accumulating $291 million TVL (at the time of writing) since its soft launch in May 2024.
Read the full report: Solana Staking
Authors
Crypto.com Research and Insights team
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