Exploring Solana liquid staking and highlight all the protocols you need to know so that you can get the best yield and rewards for your SOL.
Staking on Solana
Blockchains such as Solana use a “consensus mechanism” called Proof of Stake (PoS) which is run by validators and ensures that all transactions are verified and secured.
As such, Solana allows individuals or entities—known as “stakers”—to lock up a certain amount of SOL directly with validators as collateral to support its consensus mechanism.
This process is referred to as “staking."
In return for their participation, stakers can earn yield on their staked SOL, in addition to staking rewards.
Staking rewards are typically distributed in the form of additional tokens. The amount of rewards you earn may depend on factors such as the duration of your staking and the amount of SOL you've staked.
This economic incentive is pivotal, as it enables more high-quality validators to be set up, which in turn can enhance the network’s security and efficiency.
Solana liquid staking
Liquid staking is a concept that combines the benefits of staking with liquidity.
As mentioned above, traditional staking requires stakers to lock up their SOL directly with a validator. This means that their staked tokens are not readily available for trading, spending, or transferring.
Liquid staking aims to address this liquidity issue by allowing staked assets to be used in various ways while still participating in the staking process.
When participating in liquid staking, holders stake their SOL to a smart contract or staking pool—instead of directly to a validator.
In return for staking their tokens, participants receive a different type of token that represents their staked SOL. This new token—referred to as Liquid Staking Token (LST) or Liquid Staking Derivative (LSD)—can be traded, used in DeFi applications, or transferred while still earning staking rewards.
All this provides flexibility and liquidity for token holders.
Solana liquid staking providers
Different blockchain networks and DeFi protocols may offer liquid staking solutions with varying features and functionalities.
So, let’s have a look at some notable liquid staking options on Solana: ,Marinde ,Jito and SolBalze.
In this article we are mainly focused on SolBlaze . We will give you just of Marinde and Jito also.
SolBlaze
We will be exploring BlazeStake, BlazeReward and TokenMint.
i) BlazeStake:
BlazeStake offers users the following features:
Stake: Users can stake their SOL tokens directly through BlazeStake, participating in the liquid staking ecosystem on Solana.
Unstake (Instant): Users have the option to instantly unstake their tokens whenever they choose, providing flexibility and liquidity.
Unstake (Delayed): BlazeStake also supports delayed unstaking, allowing users to schedule unstaking actions for a future date, balancing liquidity needs with staking rewards.
Additionally, BlazeStake provides users with essential metrics and insights, including:
Total Staked SOL: Users can track the total amount of SOL tokens currently staked through BlazeStake, providing visibility into the network's staking activity.
Total bSOL: BlazeStake displays the total supply of bSOL tokens, which represent staked SOL tokens on the Solana network.
Estimated APY: BlazeStake calculates and displays the estimated Annual Percentage Yield (APY) for staked SOL tokens, with the current rate standing at 8.17%. This metric helps users understand the potential rewards for participating in the liquid staking ecosystem.
With these features and metrics, BlazeStake offers users a comprehensive platform for engaging with Solana's liquid staking ecosystem, combining convenience, flexibility, and transparency.
ii) BlazeReward:
BlazeReward Features:
Time-Based Staking Rewards: BlazeReward allows users to earn rewards based on the duration of their staking period. The longer the tokens are staked, the higher the rewards.
Leaderboard: Users can view their ranking on the leaderboard, which includes their name, base score, total score, and referral score. This feature offers transparency and incentivizes engagement.
Governance Power: BlazeReward provides users with a governance feature where they can view their governance power within the ecosystem.
Earning $BLZE:
Passive Earning with $bSOL: Users can earn $BLZE simply by holding $bSOL tokens. These rewards are tracked in real-time and automatically airdropped into the user's wallet.
SolBlaze Score Multiplier: The SolBlaze score acts as a multiplier for $BLZE rewards, depending on various factors such as referrals, lending, borrowing, etc.
Additional Rewards:
Staking Rewards: In addition to earning 7–8% interest from staking $SOL, users also earn an extra 1–2% (dependent on the price of $BLZE) on top of their stake.
Accrual Mechanism: Users can accrue $BLZE rewards regardless of whether their tokens are pooled, lent, or borrowed. For example, using Margin.fi allows users to earn $BLZE while supplying $bSOL for mrgn points, with the flexibility to collect rewards into their wallet at any time.
iii) TokenMinter:
Mint Token Features:
Token Details:
Token Name: Users can specify the name of the token they wish to mint.
Token Symbol: Users define the symbol or ticker representing the token.
Decimal Places: The number of decimal places for the token, determining its divisibility.
Initial Supply: Users set the initial supply of the token upon minting.
Image Upload Option:
- File Upload: Users have the option to upload an image file to represent the token.
Minting Options:
Future Minting: Users specify whether future minting is allowed. Options include:
Cannot Increase Supply: The supply cannot be increased in the future.
Option to Change: Users can choose whether or not to increase the supply in the future.
Metadata Options:
Future Metadata: Users determine whether metadata can be changed in the future. Options include:
Cannot Change Metadata: Metadata remains immutable once set.
Option to Change: Users can choose to update metadata in the future.
Network Selection:
Network Environment: Users select the network environment for the token. Options include:
Mainnet-Beta: The token operates on the main network.
Devnet: The token operates on a development network.
With these features, users can customize various aspects of their minted token, including its name, symbol, supply, metadata handling, and network environment, providing flexibility and control over their token creation process.
Other staking platofrm:
1) Marinade:
Founded in March 2021, Marinade was Solana’s first-ever native liquid staking solution. Generally, Marinade offers two staking options: liquid staking and native staking.
Liquid staking: On Marinade, you allocate your SOL to a stake pool and receive mSOL. While your staked SOL earns rewards (MNDE tokens) and yield — which is distributed directly into the price of mSOL — you can deploy your mSOL as collateral in various DeFi protocols such as Solend, marginfi, or Mango.
Native staking: Marinade Native is an alternative to liquid staking that allows users to benefit from an automated delegation strategy without using any smart contract. For more on how Marinade Native differs from liquid staking
2)Jito
Before we dive into Jito, it’s important to cover maximal extractable value (MEV).
MEV refers to the maximum amount of value a validator can make by including, excluding, or changing the order of transactions during the block production process. As such, MEV encompasses both the rewards a validator can earn through transaction fees and any additional profit they can gain through their control over the transaction order.
So, how does Jito fit in?
The JitoSOL stake pool exclusively delegates to validators operating the Jito-Solana validator client, which helps minimize the negative effects of MEV—e.g. spam trades and failed transactions—while maximizing its benefits—e.g. network efficiency and additional profits.
Consequently, by staking with Jito, you receive the yield-bearing JitoSOL LST, which accumulates both staking and MEV rewards over time. A portion of the MEV captured by Jito validators from searchers is directly redistributed to stakers, creating a positive flywheel effect that benefits the entire Solana ecosystem.