Liquid Staking Protocols

Zelo Finance leverages Solana's liquid staking ecosystem to generate sustainable yields for its lossless lottery protocol. By integrating with protocols like Jito, user deposits are converted into liquid staking tokens that can earn staking rewards while remaining liquid and accessible for withdrawal at any time. This creates a seamless liquid staking experience where users don't have to directly manage staking positions.The protocol's integration with liquid staking infrastructure is core to its value proposition. Deposited funds are automatically staked through established liquid staking protocols, generating real yield that funds the weekly reward pool. This provides a sustainable source of rewards that doesn't rely on token emissions or put user deposits at risk. The liquid nature of the staked assets also means users maintain full flexibility to withdraw their initial deposit whenever needed, while still participating in the protocol's reward system.

Luganodes stands out as a premier liquid staking solution on Solana, offering institutional-grade staking services with an impressive 99.9% uptime guarantee. Their integration with Jito enables enhanced staking yields through MEV opportunities, while maintaining non-custodial control of assets and providing users with liquid staking derivatives in the form of JitoSOL tokens that can be utilized across the Solana DeFi ecosystem.Their infrastructure is built on bare metal servers with comprehensive security measures including HSMs and disk encryption, backed by SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, and ISO 27001 certifications. The platform caters to both institutional and individual stakers, with no minimum staking requirement and additional services for institutional clients including detailed reporting, custom APIs, and Chainproof insurance coverage. Their validator infrastructure spans multiple geographic regions to ensure optimal performance and network decentralization, while their 24/7 monitoring by SRE experts maintains consistent reliability for stakers.

Marinade Finance stands out as one of the leading liquid staking protocols on Solana, allowing users to stake their SOL tokens and receive mSOL in return. The liquid staking derivative mSOL can be freely traded and used across the Solana DeFi ecosystem while continuously earning staking rewards, eliminating the traditional lockup period associated with staking. Marinade's approach to liquid staking is particularly innovative due to its decentralized validator set selection and automatic rebalancing mechanism. The protocol delegates staked SOL across numerous validators to enhance network security and decentralization, while also optimizing for maximum staking yields. This makes Marinade one of the most efficient and user-friendly liquid staking solutions available on Solana, with over $300M in Total Value Locked (TVL).

Bybit has emerged as a major player in Solana's liquid staking ecosystem through their BBSOL token, developed in partnership with Sanctum. The platform enables users to stake their SOL while maintaining liquidity and access to their assets, with BBSOL tokens that can be traded, used as collateral, or redeemed for the underlying SOL. The exchange handles all aspects of staking, including validator selection and rewards distribution.The technical implementation leverages Sanctum's battle-tested infrastructure, ensuring security and reliability for users. Staking rewards are automatically reflected in the BBSOL/SOL exchange rate, providing a seamless yield-earning experience. The platform's institutional-grade security measures and risk management protocols make it particularly attractive for larger investors looking to participate in Solana's liquid staking ecosystem while maintaining the security standards of a centralized exchange.

Smort brings an innovative twist to liquid staking on Solana by combining it with prediction markets. Users stake their SOL to receive smortSOL tokens at a 1:1 ratio, which can be freely traded or unstaked at any time. The liquid staking component ensures users maintain capital efficiency while earning base staking yields.Unlike traditional liquid staking protocols, Smort adds an engaging gamification layer where stakers can participate in weekly price prediction games using their smortSOL. Winners share additional rewards from the staking yield prize pool, while maintaining the core benefits of liquid staking - including unstaking flexibility and yield generation. This novel approach could drive significant staking participation on Solana.

Figment stands out as a premier institutional-grade liquid staking provider on Solana, offering secure and efficient staking infrastructure that consistently outperforms network averages. Their platform combines traditional staking rewards with Jito MEV integration, delivering enhanced yields while maintaining SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001 certified security standards. The service has processed billions in stake value with zero slashing incidents since inception.Their comprehensive staking solution includes advanced reporting capabilities, institutional-grade security measures, and integration with major custodians, making it particularly attractive for professional investors and enterprises. The platform's four-layer slashing protection system, geographic distribution of validator infrastructure, and consistent outperformance of network averages (achieving 8.42% SRR compared to the network's 6.41%) demonstrate their commitment to both security and optimization of staking returns.

Fragmetric represents one of the most innovative liquid staking solutions on Solana, offering users the ability to earn staking yields plus additional rewards from Node Consensus Networks while maintaining full liquidity through their fragSOL tokens. The protocol's sophisticated Normalized Token Program creates a unified system for managing various Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs), allowing users to combine different staking derivatives into a single, efficient liquidity pool that maintains precise conversion ratios.Through its integration with Jito's restaking infrastructure and implementation of Solana's native token extensions, Fragmetric enables users to automatically accrue staking and MEV rewards through an auto-rebase system, while separately tracking NCN and AVS rewards that can be claimed individually. The protocol has demonstrated strong security credentials with audits from Certora and Quantstamp, and has accumulated over $50M in TVL across their staking products, making it a leading choice for users seeking to maximize their staking yields while maintaining liquidity.

Picasso revolutionizes liquid staking on Solana by introducing a novel restaking mechanism that allows users to generate additional yield from their staked assets while maintaining their original staking rewards. The protocol accepts various liquid staked derivatives including mSOL, jitoSOL, and bSOL, enabling users to deposit these assets into Picasso's Vault contract to secure Actively Validated Services (AVS) while continuing to earn their base staking rewards.The platform's innovative approach to liquid staking creates a dual-reward structure where users earn both their original staking yields plus additional rewards from securing AVS services. This mechanism significantly enhances capital efficiency in the Solana ecosystem by allowing liquid staked assets to provide additional utility through AVS security. The protocol maintains robust security measures and undergoes regular audits to ensure the safety of user funds, while distributing 20% of restaking fees to PICA token holders.