Liquid Staking with mSOL#

Liquid staking lets you earn staking rewards while keeping your assets liquid. When you deposit SOL into Marinade, you receive mSOL - a token that represents your staked position and can be used throughout Solana DeFi.

How It Works#

graph LR
    A[Deposit SOL] --> B[Receive mSOL]
    B --> C{Use mSOL}
    C --> D[Hold & Earn]
    C --> E[DeFi Protocols]
    C --> F[Trade/Swap]
    E --> G[Lending]
    E --> H[LP Pools]
    E --> I[Collateral]

1. Deposit SOL - Send SOL to Marinade's liquid staking program
2. Receive mSOL - Get mSOL tokens at the current exchange rate
3. Earn Rewards - mSOL appreciates vs SOL as staking rewards accrue
4. Use in DeFi - Deploy mSOL across lending, LPs, and other protocols
5. Unstake - Convert mSOL back to SOL when needed

mSOL Token#

mSOL is a SPL token that represents staked SOL in Marinade's pool.

Exchange Rate#

mSOL appreciates against SOL over time as staking rewards are added to the pool. The exchange rate is calculated as:

mSOL/SOL rate = Total SOL in pool / Total mSOL supply

How rewards accrue:

1. Validators earn staking rewards each epoch (~2 days)
2. Rewards are added to Marinade's stake pool
3. Total SOL backing increases, mSOL supply stays same
4. Exchange rate rises → your mSOL is worth more SOL

graph TD
    A[Epoch Ends] --> B[Validators Earn Rewards]
    B --> C[Rewards Added to Pool]
    C --> D[Pool SOL Increases]
    D --> E[mSOL/SOL Rate Rises]
    E --> F[Your mSOL Worth More]

You can check the current rate at app.marinade.finance.

Staking SOL#

Via Web Interface#

1. Go to app.marinade.finance
2. Connect your wallet
3. Navigate to Stake
4. Enter SOL amount
5. Review mSOL you'll receive
6. Click Stake and approve transaction

Via SDK#

import { Marinade, MarinadeConfig } from '@marinade.finance/marinade-ts-sdk';

const config = new MarinadeConfig({
  connection,
  publicKey: walletPublicKey,
});
const marinade = new Marinade(config);

// Deposit 1 SOL
const { transaction } = await marinade.deposit(1_000_000_000);

Unstaking Options#

Delayed Unstake (Recommended)#

Wait ~1-2 epochs to unstake without fees. Your SOL is returned at the exact mSOL/SOL rate.

Process: 1. Request unstake via Marinade 2. Wait for next epoch boundary 3. Claim your SOL

Fees: None

Instant Unstake#

Get SOL immediately by swapping through liquidity pools.

Process: 1. Swap mSOL → SOL on Marinade or a DEX 2. Receive SOL instantly

Fees: 0.1-0.3% (varies by liquidity)

Using mSOL in DeFi#

mSOL's primary advantage is composability. You earn staking rewards (~7-8%) as a base, then can add additional yield through DeFi.

Lending#

Liquidity Provision#

Collateral Use Cases#

Full DeFi Guide

Fees#

Marinade charges no protocol fees on mSOL liquid staking. Users receive 100% of their staking rewards.

Security#

Smart Contract Audits#

Marinade's liquid staking program has been audited by: - Neodyme - Kudelski Security - Ackee Blockchain

Risk Considerations#

• Smart Contract Risk: While audited, DeFi protocols carry inherent smart contract risk
• mSOL Depeg Risk: In extreme market conditions, mSOL may temporarily trade below its backing value
• Validator Risk: Mitigated by PSR (Protected Staking Rewards) and diversified stake

FAQ#

Next Steps#