What is staking on Solana?
4 min read · updated 27 Apr 2026
Staking SOL means delegating your SOL to a Solana validator. The validator uses your stake as voting weight on the network, and in return you earn a share of the block rewards they produce. Current network-wide APY is around 6–7.5% depending on validator performance.
The two ways to stake
1. Native staking
You delegate SOL directly to a validator from your wallet. Your SOL is locked while staked — to unstake, you submit a deactivation request and wait for the next epoch boundary (about 2–4 days) before you can withdraw.
Pros: simple, no smart contract risk, you choose which validator to support.
Cons: illiquid for the lock period, you have to choose a validator yourself.
2. Liquid staking
You deposit SOL into a liquid staking protocol (JitoSOL, mSOL, bSOL) and receive a token representing your staked position. The token earns rewards via an exchange-rate mechanism and is freely transferable, lendable, and usable as collateral.
Pros: liquid, composable across DeFi, no validator selection.
Cons: smart contract risk, mild de-peg risk on DEXs during sell pressure.
How rewards actually work
- Solana epochs are about 2 days. Rewards distribute at the end of each epoch.
- The validator takes a commission (typically 5–10%). Their commission rate is set on-chain and visible to everyone.
- Rewards compound automatically — they're added to your stake account.
- JitoSOL earns extra MEV beyond standard staking rewards.
Picking a validator
If you stake natively, your validator choice matters. The basics are covered in our validator explainer — TL;DR: avoid the largest validators (decentralization), avoid 0% commission ones (often unsustainable), look for >95% vote success.
If picking a validator sounds tedious, that's literally the problem liquid staking solves — protocols like Jito and Marinade pre-curate the validator set for you.
Risks beyond commission
- Slashing — Solana doesn't currently slash validators for misbehavior, but it has been in the proposal phase for years. If it ships, validators could lose stake (and so could you) for double-signing or extended downtime.
- Validator goes offline — your stake stops earning until you redelegate. Liquid staking pools handle this for you automatically.
- Tax — most jurisdictions treat staking rewards as taxable income at the moment they're received. Worth knowing before year-end.
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More explainers
- What is JitoSOL?JitoSOL is a liquid staking token on Solana that earns staking rewards plus MEV from the Jito client. Here is how it works and why it matters.
- What is a Solana validator?Solana validators run the network: they propose blocks, vote on transactions, and earn rewards. Here is what they do, what it costs, and how to pick one.
- What is liquid staking?Liquid staking lets you earn staking rewards without locking up your tokens. Here is how it works on Solana, who the major players are, and what to watch out for.
- JitoSOL vs mSOL: which liquid staking token should you pick?JitoSOL and mSOL are the two biggest liquid staking tokens on Solana. Here is how they compare on yield, safety, DeFi support, and decentralization.
- What is Tensor?Tensor is the NFT marketplace and aggregator built for pro traders on Solana — fast execution, advanced order types, and the TNSR token. Here is what makes it different and who it is for.
- What is Solflare?Solflare is one of the longest-running Solana wallets — a staking-focused, self-custody wallet available as an extension, mobile app, and hardware-friendly tool. Here is what sets it apart from Phantom.