Analysis of the Liquid Staking Market in the Solana Ecosystem: Competition Among Four Major Projects

With the recovery of the cryptocurrency market, Solana (SOL) has jumped to the sixth position by market capitalization, with its staked assets ranking second only to Ethereum among all proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchains. However, the total locked value (TVL) of decentralized finance (DeFi) applications in the Solana ecosystem is relatively low, at only $1.137 billion, accounting for about 11.3% of its historical peak.

In the composition of Solana's TVL, liquid staking projects occupy an important position and are regarded as key factors in driving the recovery of TVL. Among them, Marinade and Jito have become leaders with the highest TVL, highlighting the significance of the liquid staking category. This article will delve into the main participants in the Solana liquid staking space and provide a comparative analysis of their strategies and market performance.

Solana staking market overview

As of December 12, the market capitalization of SOL reached $30.53 billion, with a stake market value of $27.62 billion, a staking ratio of 69.18%, and a staking amount of 391 million SOL. The inflation rate is 6.75%, and the reward rate is 6.87%. The staking market value of SOL ranks second among PoS public chains, second only to ETH; the staking ratio is also relatively high among major PoS public chains.

The Solana network has a total of 1,986 validators, with the top-ranking validators offering nearly 8% APY and no commission. To enhance network security and decentralization, the Solana Foundation has launched the "staking pool program," allowing users to deposit SOL into the staking pool and receive SPL tokens representing their share, known as liquid staking tokens (LST). Currently, the staking pool has locked approximately 16.82 million SOL, accounting for 4.3% of the total staked amount, with an average APY of 6.68%.

Comparison of Four Major Liquid Staking Projects

1. Marinade Finance

• Established in: August 2021
• Stake Volume: 7.058 million SOL
• TVL: $777 million
• Stake yield: 6.543%
• Governance token: MNDE (circulating market cap of 85.99 million USD)
• Features:
  • The earliest liquid staking protocol in the Solana ecosystem
  • Provide native stake services
  • stake token: mSOL

2. Jito

• Established: End of 2022
• Staked amount: 6.38 million SOL
• TVL: 455 million USD
• Staking yield: 6.892%
• Governance Token: JTO (Circulating Market Cap: $342 million)
• Features:
  • Develop MEV infrastructure for the Solana network
  • MEV revenue portion allocated to stake users
  • Stake token: JitoSOL

3. BlazeStake

• Established: May 2022
• Stake amount: 1.52 million SOL
• TVL: 108 million USD
• Stake yield: 6.232%
• Governance Token: BLZE (Total Market Value 38.84 million USD)
• Features:
  • Use the official staking pool smart contract from Solana Labs
  • Allow users to choose specific validators to stake
  • Stake Token: bSOL

4. Lido

• Solana launch date: September 2021
• Stake amount: 887,000 SOL
• TVL: 63.4 million USD
• Staking Yield: 6.717%
• Governance Token: LDO (Circulating Market Cap: $2.095 billion)
• Features:
  • Multi-chain liquid staking service provider
  • Has announced the halt of accepting new stake on Solana
  • Stake Token: stSOL

The Application of LST in DeFi

LSTs from various projects are widely supported in the Solana DeFi ecosystem:

• Lending: marginfi and Solend support mSOL, JitoSOL, bSOL as collateral.
• DEX: The liquidity of mSOL/SOL and bSOL/SOL is relatively high on Orca.

Incentives have a significant impact on the growth of staking volume and the liquidity of LST:

• BlazeStake offers the highest incentives, with a 177% increase in staking volume over the past 30 days.
• Marinade offers lower incentives but maintains stable growth.
• Jito has not yet provided incentives for DeFi applications.
• Lido has chosen to exit the market due to the lack of incentive capabilities as the token distribution nears completion.

Conclusion

There are various unique liquid staking solutions in the Solana ecosystem, each with its own characteristics: Marinade, as a pioneer, provides comprehensive services; Jito enhances returns through MEV infrastructure; BlazeStake allows for directed staking; Lido represents a multi-chain layout strategy. However, the total amount of liquid staking is still relatively low, accounting for only 4.3% of the total staked amount in the network.

The market competition is fierce, and incentive measures are still key to attracting users. In the future, more innovative solutions may emerge, such as marginfi's LST. With the continuous development of the Solana ecosystem, the competitive landscape in the liquid staking field may further evolve.