© 2026 Della Group. All Rights Reserved.
Okay, here's the thing. Most guides on liquid staking Solana hit you with a wall of tech jargon right off the bat-like "Proof of Stake consensus" and "validator delegation bots"-and you zone out before you even get to the steps. Or they pretend it's all sunshine, skipping the part where your LST might dip in value during a market freakout. In my experience, that's why newbies stake once, panic unstake, and lose out on the real boost. Liquid staking isn't just "stake and forget." It's about keeping your SOL working while you play DeFi. Why does this matter? 'Cause regular staking locks your cash for 2-3 days per epoch. This? Instant liquidity. Boosted rewards. Let's fix that.
Picture this: You stake SOL the old way, earn like 6-7.5% APY from validators securing the network. Cool. But your SOL's frozen. Can't trade, lend, nothing. Epoch ends every 2-3 days, rewards drop in, but unstaking? Wait another epoch. Lame.
Liquid staking flips it. Deposit SOL to a pool like Marinade or Jito. They stake it across vetted validators. You get back an LST-like mSOL, JitoSOL, or Phantom's pSOL. That token's worth your share plus rewards. It doesn't stay 1:1 with SOL. Nope. Stake 1 SOL, get say 0.89 mSOL 'cause rewards already pumped the value. Over time, that mSOL redeems for more than 1 SOL. Meanwhile? Use it anywhere. Swap for USDC on Jupiter. Lend on Kamino. Farm yields on Tulip. Pretty much DeFi's best friend.
The boost? LSTs often beat native staking by 1-3% APY. Jito grabs MEV (fancy transaction fees). Infinity pools top LSTs for 7-9%+. And liquidity? 13-14% of all staked SOL's in LSTs now-over 60 million SOL. Sound familiar? It's like having your cake, eating it, and trading slices.
Honesty time. Native staking's fine for set it and forget it. But if you want your SOL earning and usable? Liquid's king. In my wallet, I've got mSOL lending on Marginfi while it stakes. Double dip. During that October crash last year? Some LSTs like INF pulled 26% epoch returns 'cause they stacked yields smart.
But wait-fees. Pools take cuts, like 0-5% on rewards usually. Marinade's around 0.3% kinda thing. Transaction fees? Tiny, ~0.000005 SOL per pop. Gas is cheap on Solana. You'll earn way more unless you're unstaking tiny amounts nonstop.
| Pool | LST | APY Boost | Special Sauce | Fee Vibe |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marinade | mSOL | 6.5-8% | Stake for MNDE tokens too | Low, ~0.3% |
| Jito | JitoSOL | 7-9% | MEV capture for extra juice | Minimal |
| Phantom | pSOL | 6-8% | One click in wallet | Super low |
| Blaze | bSOL | 7% | Solid integrations | ~0.2% |
| Infinity (Sanctum) | INF | 7-9%+ | LST of LSTs, highest yields | Trading fees baked in |
Pick based on what you vibe with. I usually go Marinade for DeFi plays. Jito if I want MEV boost.
Phantom's built in. No dApp hopping. You'll need Phantom wallet, some SOL (say 10+ to make it worth fees), and Chrome or whatever.
Takes 30 seconds. In my experience, perfect starter. What's next? Swapping it.
Marinade's UI screams simple. Head to their staking page. Connect Phantom (or Backpack, whatever).
Now the fun. I usually swap mSOL on Jupiter for USDC if I need cash quick. Or stake it back in Marinade for MNDE governance tokens. Extra yield layer.
Pro tip: Don't unstake instant unless urgent. Fee's like 0.1-0.5%, and you miss compounding.
Your LST just turned liquid gold. Lend on Drift? Collateral for borrows. Farm on Orca pools? LP rewards. Mango for leverage trades. The thing is, each adds yield on top of staking. 6% stake + 5% lend = 11%. Crazy.
Two ways. Standard: Wait epoch end (2-3 days). Free, full SOL back with rewards. Instant: Small fee, like 0.1%, get SOL now via pool liquidity.
On Sanctum for INF? Instant unstake, minimal slippage. Check reserve levels first-big trades in wild markets? Slippage hits 1-2%.
Issue alert: LST price can wobble below SOL peg short term. Market dumps? Pools sell underlying to meet redemptions. Solution? Hold. Rewards compound back. Or swap to stable first.
Validators suck? Rewards drop. Pools diversify, so less pain. Smart contract hacks? Solana's SPL program's battle tested, but yeah, risk exists. I spread across 2-3 LSTs.
Liquidity crunch? Rare, but during crashes, swaps slip. Fix: Use DEXs with deep pools like Jupiter. Validator downtime? INF baskets multiple LSTs-safer.
Slashing? Solana doesn't slash much, but bad validators hurt. Pools vet 'em. In my experience, LST APYs stay 1-3% above native anyway.
Okay, basic LST good. But stack for more.
I run mSOL in Kamino vault. Passive 10%ish. Questions? Why not try small, like 1 SOL test?
| When? | Phantom | Marinade | Jito |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newbie, one click | Yes-wallet native | Good UI | Bit more setup |
| Max DeFi | Okay swaps | Killer integrations | MEV boost |
| Highest APY chase | Solid | MNDE extra | Top tier |
| Fee sensitive | Lowest | ~0.3% | Minimal |
Start Phantom. Graduate to others. Honestly, rotate monthly for best yields.
Tx fails? Network congested-wait 5 min, retry. Wallet not showing LST? Refresh, check token list (add custom if needed).
APY dropped? Normal fluctuation. Check pool dashboard. Rewards not compounding? LSTs do it auto-value rises vs SOL.
Big unstake slippage? Split into 2-3 txs. Or wait epoch. The thing is, 99% issues are user error or timing.
Got more? Diversify LSTs. 30% mSOL, 30% JitoSOL, 20% INF, 20% pSOL. Use Squads for multi sig safety. Track on Dune dashboards-free APY comps.
In my experience, this setup's netted me 9% avg last year vs native's 6.5%. Compounding? Game changer. But don't ape all in. Volatility's real.
© 2026 Della Group. All Rights Reserved.