© 2026 Della Group. All Rights Reserved.
That's me last week. Had some SOL sitting idle in Phantom, thinking "why not stake it and grab those rewards?" Staking SOL on Phantom is dead simple, and honestly, it's one of the easiest ways to make your crypto work for you. We're talking native staking where your SOL stays yours, or liquid staking if you wanna keep it flexible. In my experience, I've been staking for months now-pulling in around 6-8% APY depending on the validator. Why does this matter? Because SOL rewards compound, and validators pay out every few days. Sound familiar? Let's get you set up so you don't miss out.
But first things first-you need Phantom and some SOL. If you're brand new, no sweat. I usually start with the browser extension 'cause it's quick on desktop. Download from phantom.app, pick Chrome or whatever, install it. Boom. Create a new wallet, set a password (make it strong but memorable), write down that seed phrase on paper-never digital. Lose it? You're done. Got it? Good.
Okay, empty wallet sucks. Head to an exchange like Coinbase or Binance, buy some SOL. You'll need like 0.01 extra for gas fees-tiny, around 0.000005 SOL per transaction. Copy your Phantom address: click the SOL balance, hit copy. Paste it into the exchange's withdraw. Send it over. Wait 2-5 minutes. Refresh Phantom. There it is.
In my experience, first timers mess up the network-make sure it's Solana mainnet, not testnet. And double check the address. Paste it wrong once? Poof, gone forever. Brutal lesson I learned early.
Pro tip: Use the same seed on mobile and desktop for sync. But if you wanna separate 'em, that's cool too-vault one for holdings, hot one for trading.
Now the fun part. Open Phantom, click Solana in your portfolio. See "Start earning SOL" or "Stake SOL" under More? Tap it. Pick Native Staking. Why native? No middleman, rewards hit your stake account direct. Locked? Yeah, but safe.
Choose a validator. Phantom lists 'em with APY, commission (usually 0-10%), stake size. I go for ones with low commission like 0% or 2%, big stake (hundreds of thousands SOL) for reliability. Phantom Validator's solid-486k SOL staked last I checked. Avoid tiny ones; they might go offline.
Your stake shows under Solana > Your Stake. Click for details: status (activating/active), rewards earned. Rewards auto compound every epoch-about 2 days. Pretty much passive income.
But hey, need liquidity? Liquid staking gives you a token like JitoSOL or mSOL. Stake SOL, get JitoSOL back-instant. Use it in DeFi, trade it, whatever. APY similar, 6-7%, but with MEV boosts sometimes higher.
Back in Phantom: Same spot, pick Liquid Staking. Choose provider-Jito's popular. Stake 10 SOL, get ~10 JitoSOL (1:1-ish, check rate). Now it's in your wallet like any token. Want out? Swap back via Jupiter in Phantom-easy swap tab.
The thing is, liquid's great if you're active. I liquid stake half my bag, native the rest. Mix it up.
Need your SOL back? Go to Solana > Your Stake > pick position > Unstake. It deactivates over 2-3 days (current epoch + next). Then Withdraw to wallet. No fees beyond gas.
Common issue: "It's stuck!" Nah, just wait. Check status in Phantom or Solana Explorer (solscan.io, paste address). Inactive? Withdraw. Active? Can't yet.
Restaking more? Unstake old, wait, combine, stake fresh. Or add to existing if same validator-hit + under Your Stake.
| Validator | Commission | Stake Size | APY Est. | Why Pick? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phantom Validator | 0% | 486k SOL | 7.2% | Reliable, no cut. |
| Chorus One | 5% | 1M+ SOL | 6.8% | Pro team, stable. |
| Jito (for liquid) | 0.3% fee | Huge | 7.5% + MEV | Liquid perks. |
| Random small | 10% | <10k | ??? | Avoid-risky. |
APYs fluctuate-check in app. Network average ~7% now. Commissions eat your rewards, so low = better. Big stake means less downtime.
Okay, real talk. "No stake button?" Update Phantom. "Transaction failed?" Not enough SOL for fee-buy 0.005 more. "Stake not showing?" Refresh, wait 30 secs.
Phone vs desktop? Steps same, but mobile's touchier with biometrics. Locked out? Seed phrase time. And hardware wallet? Ledger works great-connect via USB/Bluetooth, approve stakes.
Security: Never share seed. Use vault address for big stakes. Hot wallet for daily. Multi address in Phantom-tap top to switch, label 'em: "Staking Vault."
Expect 6-8% APY on 100 SOL? ~7 SOL/year. Paid every 2 days. Claim? Auto to stake account. Want cash? Unstake partially.
Max it: Split across 2-3 validators. Restake rewards weekly. In my experience, this beats holding plain SOL by miles during bull runs.
Taxes? US folks, staking rewards taxable. Track via Solscan exports. But that's for later.
Now, auto restake? Phantom doesn't native, but tools like Stakewiz help pick. Liquid stack: Stake JitoSOL on Drift for extra yield.
Monitor: Pin Phantom to browser toolbar. Check epochs on solana.beach. Questions? Phantom help center's gold.
© 2026 Della Group. All Rights Reserved.