Solana staking glossary: 50+ terms explained
A plain-English glossary of Solana staking terms, from epochs, validators, and APY to liquid staking, MEV, SAM, and the Solana Staking Index. Clear, self-contained definitions for beginners and pros.
This glossary defines the key terms used in Solana staking, from core network concepts like epochs and validators to liquid staking tokens, MEV, and Marinade-specific mechanisms such as SAM and the Solana Staking Index. Each entry is a short, standalone definition you can read on its own.
Active stake
Active stake is SOL that is fully delegated to a validator and currently earning rewards. Newly delegated stake is not active immediately; it becomes active after a warm-up period at the next epoch boundary.
APR
APR (Annual Percentage Rate) is the yearly staking return without compounding. On Solana it is the raw rate of rewards before they are reinvested. Most Solana staking rewards auto-compound, so the effective return is usually quoted as APY, which is higher than APR.
APY
APY (Annual Percentage Yield) is the yearly staking return with compounding included. Because Solana pays rewards every epoch (~2 days) and they are automatically restaked, APY reflects the compounding of those frequent payouts and is the standard way Solana staking yield is quoted.
Auto-compounding
Auto-compounding is the automatic reinvestment of staking rewards back into your stake, so future rewards are earned on a growing balance. Native Solana staking auto-compounds each epoch, and liquid staking tokens compound by increasing the SOL each token can redeem over time.
Commission
Commission is the percentage of staking rewards a validator keeps as a fee before distributing the rest to its delegators. A 5% commission means the validator retains 5% of the rewards and passes 95% to stakers. Lower commission means more net yield for the staker, all else equal.
Cooldown (deactivation)
Cooldown, also called the deactivation period, is the time between requesting to unstake native SOL and the SOL becoming withdrawable. It lasts until the end of the current epoch, so funds are typically locked for up to a few days. Liquid staking and instant unstake let you exit without waiting.
Custodial vs non-custodial staking
Custodial staking means a third party (like an exchange) holds your SOL and stakes it on your behalf. Non-custodial staking means you keep control of your own keys and your SOL never leaves your wallet. Marinade Native is non-custodial: you retain the withdraw authority over your own stake accounts.
Delegation
Delegation is the act of assigning your stake to a validator so it can be used to help secure the network and earn rewards. Your SOL is never transferred to the validator; delegation only points your stake's voting weight at that validator.
Delegation strategy
A delegation strategy is the method used to decide how stake is spread across validators. Marinade uses an algorithmic strategy that distributes stake across 100+ validators based on performance and decentralization criteria. See the delegation strategy guide.
Epoch
An epoch is Solana's fundamental time unit for staking, currently lasting roughly 2 days (about 432,000 slots). Staking rewards are calculated and paid out at each epoch boundary, and stake activation, deactivation, and delegation changes take effect at epoch boundaries.
Exchange rate (LST)
The exchange rate of a liquid staking token is how much SOL one token can be redeemed for. It starts near 1:1 and rises every epoch as staking rewards accrue, so 1 mSOL becomes worth progressively more than 1 SOL over time. LST APY is measured as the annualized growth of this exchange rate.
Governance
Governance is the process by which token holders vote on protocol decisions. In Marinade, governance is exercised by staking the MNDE token, which grants voting power over proposals such as fees, delegation rules, and treasury use.
Inflation rewards
Inflation rewards are the newly issued SOL that the Solana protocol distributes to stakers each epoch. They are the base component of staking yield, funded by Solana's declining inflation schedule, and are separate from priority fees and MEV.
Instant unstake
Instant unstake is a way to exit staked SOL immediately instead of waiting for the epoch cooldown, usually for a small fee. Marinade's instant unstake uses a liquidity pool so stakers can convert to liquid SOL without the multi-day deactivation wait.
Leader
The leader is the validator scheduled to produce blocks for a given slot. Leadership rotates among validators in proportion to their stake, and being the leader is when a validator earns transaction and priority fees.
Liquid staking
Liquid staking is staking SOL while receiving a tradable token that represents your staked position. This lets you earn staking rewards and still use your capital in DeFi at the same time. See liquid staking on Solana.
Liquid staking token (LST)
A liquid staking token (LST) is the receipt token you get when you liquid stake, such as mSOL or JitoSOL. It accrues rewards through a rising SOL exchange rate and can be traded, lent, or used as collateral while the underlying SOL stays staked.
Marinade Native
Marinade Native is Marinade's non-custodial native staking product. It spreads your stake across 100+ validators using Marinade's delegation strategy while you keep full custody and the withdraw authority over your own stake accounts, with no liquid staking token and no smart contract risk to your principal.
MEV
MEV (maximal extractable value) is the extra value validators can capture from ordering transactions within the blocks they produce. On Solana, MEV tips are a growing share of validator revenue, and protocols route a portion back to stakers as additional yield. See Marinade and MEV.
MNDE
MNDE is Marinade's governance token. Staking MNDE grants voting power in the Marinade DAO over decisions such as delegation rules, fees, and treasury allocation.
mSOL
mSOL is Marinade's liquid staking token. When you liquid stake SOL with Marinade you receive mSOL, which rises in value against SOL each epoch as staking rewards accrue, and can be used across Solana DeFi. See mSOL 101.
Nakamoto coefficient
The Nakamoto coefficient is the minimum number of validators that would need to collude to halt or censor the network. A higher coefficient means greater decentralization. Marinade's multi-validator delegation is designed to raise, not concentrate, this number.
Native staking
Native staking is staking SOL directly with validators at the protocol level, without a liquid staking token. Your SOL stays in your own stake accounts under your control and earns rewards each epoch. The trade-off versus liquid staking is that exiting requires the epoch cooldown unless you use instant unstake.
Priority fees
Priority fees are optional fees users add to transactions to be processed sooner during congestion. They are paid to the block-producing validator and have become a meaningful component of validator revenue and, in turn, staker rewards.
Proof of Stake
Proof of Stake (PoS) is the consensus mechanism Solana uses, where validators are selected to produce and validate blocks in proportion to the stake delegated to them. Stakers earn rewards for helping secure the network and can lose value only through poor validator performance or, in the future, slashing.
Protected Staking Rewards (PSR)
Protected Staking Rewards (PSR) is a Marinade mechanism that guarantees stakers a baseline yield by backing validator commitments with on-chain bonds. If a validator underperforms or behaves maliciously, its bond compensates affected stakers, so downside is covered by the validator, not the staker.
Redelegation
Redelegation is moving stake from one validator to another. Marinade's delegation strategy redelegates automatically to keep stake on well-performing, decentralization-friendly validators, which individual stakers would otherwise have to manage manually.
Rent (stake account)
Rent is the small amount of SOL that must be held in a stake account to keep it active on-chain (rent-exempt). It is not a fee paid to anyone; it is a reserve returned to you when the account is closed.
Rewards
Staking rewards are the SOL a staker earns for delegating to validators. On Solana they come from three sources: inflation rewards, priority fees, and MEV tips. Rewards are paid each epoch and typically auto-compound.
SAM (Stake Auction Marketplace)
SAM (Stake Auction Marketplace) is Marinade's marketplace where validators bid for delegated stake by committing to share a portion of their rewards back to stakers. The stake flows to the validators offering the best risk-adjusted return, so stakers earn more and validators compete on value delivered. See the Stake Auction Marketplace explainer.
Slashing
Slashing is a protocol penalty that destroys part of a validator's (and its delegators') stake for provable misbehavior such as double-signing. Solana does not have automatic on-chain slashing live today, though it is on the roadmap; validator underperformance currently affects rewards rather than principal.
Slot
A slot is the smallest unit of time on Solana, roughly 400 milliseconds, during which a designated leader can produce a block. Epochs are measured in slots (about 432,000 per epoch).
Solana Staking Index (SSI)
The Solana Staking Index (SSI) is a benchmark reference rate for Solana staking yield, functioning like a risk-free rate for the network. It was co-founded by Marinade with stakefish and Titan Analytics to give stakers, validators, and institutions a standard yardstick to measure staking returns against, rather than comparing inconsistent APY figures.
Stake account
A stake account is the on-chain account that holds delegated SOL and records which validator it is delegated to. In native staking you own your stake accounts directly; the withdraw authority on the account is what proves control of the funds.
Stake authority
The stake authority is the key that controls staking operations on a stake account, such as delegating, deactivating, and redelegating the stake. It cannot move the SOL out of the account, that power belongs to the separate withdraw authority, and the two can be held by different keys.
Stake pool
A stake pool is a program that aggregates many users' SOL, delegates it across a set of validators, and issues a liquid staking token representing a share of the pool. mSOL and JitoSOL are issued by stake pools.
Staking
Staking is the act of delegating SOL to validators to help secure the Solana network and earn rewards. Stakers do not give up ownership of their SOL; they assign its voting weight to validators and share in the rewards those validators earn.
Superminority
The superminority is the smallest group of validators that together control more than one third of total stake, the threshold at which they could halt the network. It is a common decentralization health metric alongside the Nakamoto coefficient.
TVL
TVL (Total Value Locked) is the total value of assets deposited in a protocol. For a staking protocol it is usually measured in SOL staked, and it is a proxy for scale and trust rather than a measure of yield.
Unstaking
Unstaking is the process of withdrawing SOL from a validator. Native unstaking requires an epoch cooldown before the SOL is withdrawable, while liquid staking and instant unstake let you exit immediately. See how to unstake SOL.
Validator
A validator is a computer that runs the Solana software to produce and vote on blocks, securing the network. Validators earn rewards from the stake delegated to them and pass most of it to their delegators after taking a commission.
Validator bond
A validator bond is on-chain SOL a validator posts as collateral to back commitments made in Marinade's SAM and PSR. If the validator underperforms or breaks its commitment, the bond is used to compensate affected stakers.
Vote account
A vote account is the on-chain account a validator uses to record its votes on blocks. Delegators point their stake accounts at a validator's vote account; a validator's total delegated stake is the sum across all stake accounts pointing to its vote account.
Vote credits
Vote credits are the record of a validator successfully voting on blocks, used to measure its performance and uptime. Higher vote credits mean the validator is reliably participating, which directly affects the rewards its delegators earn.
Warm-up (activation)
Warm-up, or activation, is the delay between delegating stake and it becoming active and earning rewards. Newly delegated SOL activates at the next epoch boundary, so there is typically a short wait before rewards begin.
Withdraw authority
The withdraw authority is the key that controls a stake account and can move its SOL. Holding the withdraw authority is what makes staking non-custodial: with Marinade Native, you keep it, so no one else can move your funds.
Yield stacking
Yield stacking is combining staking yield with additional DeFi returns, for example by using mSOL as collateral to borrow and deploy elsewhere. Because a liquid staking token keeps earning while it is used in DeFi, stakers can layer returns on the same underlying SOL.
