What Is Liquid Staking in Solana?
Liquid staking allows you to stake SOL while receiving a liquid token that represents your staked position. This token appreciates in value as staking rewards accrue, and it can be traded, used as collateral, or deployed in DeFi — unlike natively staked SOL, which is locked in a stake account.
How liquid staking works
- Deposit SOL into a liquid staking protocol (Jito, Marinade, etc.)
- Receive a liquid staking token (LST) like JitoSOL or mSOL
- The protocol stakes your SOL across multiple validators
- The LST value increases as staking rewards accumulate
- Redeem the LST for SOL plus accrued rewards, or swap it on a DEX
Benefits
- Liquidity — LSTs can be traded instantly without waiting for the unstaking cooldown
- DeFi composability — use LSTs as collateral in lending, provide liquidity on DEXes, or stack yields
- Diversification — stake pools distribute stake across many validators, reducing single-validator risk
- MEV rewards — some LSTs (like JitoSOL) include MEV tip revenue in their yield
Major LST protocols on Solana
| Protocol | Token |
|---|---|
| Jito | JitoSOL |
| Marinade | mSOL |
| Sanctum | Various (INF, validator-specific LSTs) |
FAQ
Is liquid staking riskier than native staking? It adds smart contract risk — you depend on the stake pool program being secure. However, major protocols are audited and battle-tested.
What APY does liquid staking offer? Similar to native staking (~7–8% APY as of 2026-10-20), plus MEV tips for protocols that support it. Actual rates vary with network conditions.
Sources
Updated: