4 months ago
🚨 IMPORTANT MESSAGE
We've recently seen an increase of scammers impersonating Maestro admin/mods. Our main goal is to always protect users from malicious actors and safeguard your funds.
Maestro TG Link: http://t.me/Maestro
Maestro Pro TG Link: http://t.me/MaestroPro
Stay vigilant and remember:
• Maestro will never DM you first and will never ask for your private key
• Always verify mod handles in the Maestro Ecosystem using /support
• Always verify posts with our handle MaestroBots
• Find official links in our Linktree: https://linktr.ee/MaestroB...
Stay safe, trade smart.
We've recently seen an increase of scammers impersonating Maestro admin/mods. Our main goal is to always protect users from malicious actors and safeguard your funds.
Maestro TG Link: http://t.me/Maestro
Maestro Pro TG Link: http://t.me/MaestroPro
Stay vigilant and remember:
• Maestro will never DM you first and will never ask for your private key
• Always verify mod handles in the Maestro Ecosystem using /support
• Always verify posts with our handle MaestroBots
• Find official links in our Linktree: https://linktr.ee/MaestroB...
Stay safe, trade smart.
Telegram: Contact @Maestro
This is the official Maestro Sniper Bot 🔫 deployed by @MaestroBots.
http://t.me/Maestro
5 months ago
Daily Memecoin Recap - November 15
We got a decent amount of $10m + runners, but lots of pvp today
Mascot Meta
$lester -> hit $197m , litecoin mascot
$phil -> hit $23 .4m, binance mascot
$cupsey -> hit $21 .5m, pumpdotfun mascot
$clark -> hit $10m , coinbase mascot
$chatty -> hit $9 .1m, ChatGPTapp mascot
$bibi -> hit $2 .6m, tweet from 2018 of binance tweeting a coin/mascot
$blocky -> hit $2 .5m, okx mascot
$poly -> hit $2m , 0xPolygon mascot
- Litecoin started the mascot meta
- A bunch of companies are now coming up with their own mascots
Phantom Deployed A Coin?
#kendrook -> hit $7 .5m
- Someone did research going through a video made by phantom founder BChillman
Bitcoin Mascots
$bitcat -> hit $90m , Bitcoin mascot, greg16676935420 replied
$alpaca -> hit $14 .2m, old bitcoin mascot from 2011
$bitdog -> hit $6 .8m, $bitcat beta
#bitrhino -> hit $4m
Hasbulla Joins Memes
$barsik -> hit $103m , Hasbulla's cat
- hasbulla_main, continues to push his coin
Elon's New Podcast
$ @doge -> hit $37m , DOGE, Elon tweeted
#dogecast -> hit $33m
- Dogecast is a new podcast featuring VivekGRamaswamy and elonmusk
Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul
$tyson -> hit $5 .5m
$fight -> hit $4 .6m
#mikeass -> hit $3 .5m, MikeTyson goes viral after pantless in an interview
NYC Dog Mayor
$bert -> hit $185m , crashed to $12m (currently at $70m )
$simon -> hit $25m , Simon beat Bert to become the mayor for the next 2 years
Moo Deng Wants A Billion
#moodeng -> $282m to $703m (2.5x)
Animals
#charlie -> hit $15m
$bella -> hit $6 .1m, dog meme
$vibe -> hit $4m , vibe cat, OG meme, has been done multiple times
$nibsy -> hit $1 .3m, cat meme
Pnut Betas
#cheyenne -> hit $41m , first animal in $pnut 's freedom farm
#babypnut -> hit $23m
#pepnut -> hit $3 .5m, $pepe + $pnut
$tunp -> hit $1 .7m, pnut backwards
Artificial Intelligence
$goat -> hit $1 .2b, ATH
#zerebro -> hit $265m
$ava -> hit $90m , AI agent for storytelling, good tech
$rex -> hit $41m , moonshotdotcc launch, $800k + in LP Rewards
$aika -> hit $19 .6m
More Cooks
$maneki -> hit $130m , idrawline pushing
$arie -> hit $19m
$maxx -> hit $7 .4m
#malicious -> hit $5 .3m
How much are you up/down this week?
We got a decent amount of $10m + runners, but lots of pvp today
Mascot Meta
$lester -> hit $197m , litecoin mascot
$phil -> hit $23 .4m, binance mascot
$cupsey -> hit $21 .5m, pumpdotfun mascot
$clark -> hit $10m , coinbase mascot
$chatty -> hit $9 .1m, ChatGPTapp mascot
$bibi -> hit $2 .6m, tweet from 2018 of binance tweeting a coin/mascot
$blocky -> hit $2 .5m, okx mascot
$poly -> hit $2m , 0xPolygon mascot
- Litecoin started the mascot meta
- A bunch of companies are now coming up with their own mascots
Phantom Deployed A Coin?
#kendrook -> hit $7 .5m
- Someone did research going through a video made by phantom founder BChillman
Bitcoin Mascots
$bitcat -> hit $90m , Bitcoin mascot, greg16676935420 replied
$alpaca -> hit $14 .2m, old bitcoin mascot from 2011
$bitdog -> hit $6 .8m, $bitcat beta
#bitrhino -> hit $4m
Hasbulla Joins Memes
$barsik -> hit $103m , Hasbulla's cat
- hasbulla_main, continues to push his coin
Elon's New Podcast
$ @doge -> hit $37m , DOGE, Elon tweeted
#dogecast -> hit $33m
- Dogecast is a new podcast featuring VivekGRamaswamy and elonmusk
Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul
$tyson -> hit $5 .5m
$fight -> hit $4 .6m
#mikeass -> hit $3 .5m, MikeTyson goes viral after pantless in an interview
NYC Dog Mayor
$bert -> hit $185m , crashed to $12m (currently at $70m )
$simon -> hit $25m , Simon beat Bert to become the mayor for the next 2 years
Moo Deng Wants A Billion
#moodeng -> $282m to $703m (2.5x)
Animals
#charlie -> hit $15m
$bella -> hit $6 .1m, dog meme
$vibe -> hit $4m , vibe cat, OG meme, has been done multiple times
$nibsy -> hit $1 .3m, cat meme
Pnut Betas
#cheyenne -> hit $41m , first animal in $pnut 's freedom farm
#babypnut -> hit $23m
#pepnut -> hit $3 .5m, $pepe + $pnut
$tunp -> hit $1 .7m, pnut backwards
Artificial Intelligence
$goat -> hit $1 .2b, ATH
#zerebro -> hit $265m
$ava -> hit $90m , AI agent for storytelling, good tech
$rex -> hit $41m , moonshotdotcc launch, $800k + in LP Rewards
$aika -> hit $19 .6m
More Cooks
$maneki -> hit $130m , idrawline pushing
$arie -> hit $19m
$maxx -> hit $7 .4m
#malicious -> hit $5 .3m
How much are you up/down this week?
7 months ago
Binance Has Advised Cryptocurrency Users To Be Aware Of The "Clipper" Malware
A global malware threat is currently targeting cryptocurrency users, causing significant financial losses by altering withdrawal addresses. Known as "Clipper malware," this malicious software manipulates copied wallet addresses during transactions, redirecting funds to the attackers' wallets without the users' knowledge.
A global malware threat is currently targeting cryptocurrency users, causing significant financial losses by altering withdrawal addresses. Known as "Clipper malware," this malicious software manipulates copied wallet addresses during transactions, redirecting funds to the attackers' wallets without the users' knowledge.
7 months ago
Marinade Finance, one of Solana’s original staking providers, has found itself in hot water with validator operators.
Validators argue that Marinade’s new Stake Auction Marketplace (SAM) harms the staking landscape, allowing malicious actors to thrive at the expense of honest validators.
Beyond losing stake in the network, chagrined validators suggest that, left unchecked, the SAM model is a threat to decentralization and Solana’s scalability moving forward.
Marinade has dismissed these accusations. Countering claims of apathetic negligence, Marinade argues those who criticize the new system do so out of spite.
Is this a case of willful blindness, or are validators looking for a scapegoat to blame for their own shortcomings?
WHY ARE VALIDATORS UPSET?
Once heralded as a powerful new model that would push staking APY to new heights, the SAM has drawn scorn and skepticism from certain validators. Marinade’s SAM enables validators to bid on network stake, with winners securing stake and passing on elevated rewards to delegators.
To win auctions, validators competitively bid on network stake. However, surging demand for stake has driven validators to bid at potentially unsustainable levels. In previous epochs, winning validators needed to yield over 10% APY to win auctions, a rate considered impossible to achieve through native staking alone.
This has led certain operators to speculate on how these validators can afford such high bids. Suggesting that such yield can only be achieved through malicious activities, like sandwich attacks, private mempools, and off-chain deals, some validators argue that Marinade is turning a blind eye to dishonest validators.
Distressed validators have created analytics dashboards to express their frustrations and support their claims. Hanabi’s ‘Marinade Stake Selling’ dashboard highlights that a number of validators flagged for malicious activity have won stake through the SAM.
Responding to accusations levied by third-party dashboard creators, Marinade CEO Michael Repetny argues “Hanabi lacks any methodology, they only copy labels from other Stakewiz dashboard to call it a day.”
Adding further context to the claims of disgruntled operators, Repetny affirms “Hanabi lost 1M SOL from Marinade so it’s understandable he fights the new system.”
Concerned validators have taken to Marinade’s Discord server to air their grievances. Operators have claimed that, through the SAM, over 2.7M SOL has been staked to questionable validators, including sybils and sandwiches. Disgruntled operators even suggested “Marinade wants you to have side deals, ethical or not.”
Additionally, validators have argued that if “most of the mSOL pool is delegated to unethical validators it’s a really bad look for the Solana ecosystem.”
In an exclusive statement with SolanaFloor, Max Kaplan, Head of Engineering at Edgevana, credits Marinade for trying something inventive that “had never been done before”.
However, Kaplan admits that Marinade “went full capitalist… basically, the highest bidder wins. Marinade doesn’t really care if a validator bids for stake and is just gonna lose money on that stake, that’s not their problem… They’re happy to take the money and give that to mSOL holders.”
Experts argue that in current conditions, staking yield over 10% simply isn’t sustainable. Kaplan contends “10% APY is higher than the native staking yield that is paid out on chain. The money has to come from somewhere.”
Without making any accusations, Kaplan theorizes that additional yield could potentially come from a validator’s own “marketing/growth budget” or other sources like “SWQoS / private mempool deals”.
Responding to any accusations, Repetny reinforces Marinade's stance that “SAM provides the best yield on the market for delegators. It is not an active policy maker or opinionated strategy to tweak the network.”
Validators argue that Marinade’s new Stake Auction Marketplace (SAM) harms the staking landscape, allowing malicious actors to thrive at the expense of honest validators.
Beyond losing stake in the network, chagrined validators suggest that, left unchecked, the SAM model is a threat to decentralization and Solana’s scalability moving forward.
Marinade has dismissed these accusations. Countering claims of apathetic negligence, Marinade argues those who criticize the new system do so out of spite.
Is this a case of willful blindness, or are validators looking for a scapegoat to blame for their own shortcomings?
WHY ARE VALIDATORS UPSET?
Once heralded as a powerful new model that would push staking APY to new heights, the SAM has drawn scorn and skepticism from certain validators. Marinade’s SAM enables validators to bid on network stake, with winners securing stake and passing on elevated rewards to delegators.
To win auctions, validators competitively bid on network stake. However, surging demand for stake has driven validators to bid at potentially unsustainable levels. In previous epochs, winning validators needed to yield over 10% APY to win auctions, a rate considered impossible to achieve through native staking alone.
This has led certain operators to speculate on how these validators can afford such high bids. Suggesting that such yield can only be achieved through malicious activities, like sandwich attacks, private mempools, and off-chain deals, some validators argue that Marinade is turning a blind eye to dishonest validators.
Distressed validators have created analytics dashboards to express their frustrations and support their claims. Hanabi’s ‘Marinade Stake Selling’ dashboard highlights that a number of validators flagged for malicious activity have won stake through the SAM.
Responding to accusations levied by third-party dashboard creators, Marinade CEO Michael Repetny argues “Hanabi lacks any methodology, they only copy labels from other Stakewiz dashboard to call it a day.”
Adding further context to the claims of disgruntled operators, Repetny affirms “Hanabi lost 1M SOL from Marinade so it’s understandable he fights the new system.”
Concerned validators have taken to Marinade’s Discord server to air their grievances. Operators have claimed that, through the SAM, over 2.7M SOL has been staked to questionable validators, including sybils and sandwiches. Disgruntled operators even suggested “Marinade wants you to have side deals, ethical or not.”
Additionally, validators have argued that if “most of the mSOL pool is delegated to unethical validators it’s a really bad look for the Solana ecosystem.”
In an exclusive statement with SolanaFloor, Max Kaplan, Head of Engineering at Edgevana, credits Marinade for trying something inventive that “had never been done before”.
However, Kaplan admits that Marinade “went full capitalist… basically, the highest bidder wins. Marinade doesn’t really care if a validator bids for stake and is just gonna lose money on that stake, that’s not their problem… They’re happy to take the money and give that to mSOL holders.”
Experts argue that in current conditions, staking yield over 10% simply isn’t sustainable. Kaplan contends “10% APY is higher than the native staking yield that is paid out on chain. The money has to come from somewhere.”
Without making any accusations, Kaplan theorizes that additional yield could potentially come from a validator’s own “marketing/growth budget” or other sources like “SWQoS / private mempool deals”.
Responding to any accusations, Repetny reinforces Marinade's stance that “SAM provides the best yield on the market for delegators. It is not an active policy maker or opinionated strategy to tweak the network.”
7 months ago
BIG SUPPLY, BIG PROBLEMS AS SOLANA’S NFT MARKET REJECTS LARGE COLLECTIONS
Fresh minting mechanics are bringing greater security to Solana NFTs, but new mints and large collections struggle to garner attention and are trading below mint price.
New NFT collections have learned a painful lesson this week. If it wasn’t obvious due to stagnant floor prices and diminishing trade volume, launching a fresh collection in these conditions is a difficult task.
Despite commentators claiming these hyped collections will usher in a “new era” and whitelist spots selling at over $50 apiece on open markets, launches from Pathfinders and Hermans have failed to meet expectations.
Will Solana’s NFT market ever witness another successful 10,000 NFT collection? Or are small supplies the only way of conserving value?
ONLY 21% OF PATHFINDER'S RISK-FREE NFTs MINTED
Despite proposing a new, risk-free method of launching Solana NFTs, the Pathfinders collection faces difficulty minting out. At press time, only 2,125/10,000 NFTs have been minted, falling well short of expectations.
Pathfinder’s novel LST-backed NFT collection launched with noble intentions. Providing an alternative mechanic that aims to protect minters, the collection has launched Solana’s first un-ruggable NFTs.
Unlike standard NFT mints, Pathfinders NFTs are minted using pathSOL, the project’s native liquid staking token. Holders reserve the right to redeem their NFT for the underlying pathSOL used to mint the asset, essentially securing the NFT’s value at a minimum of 2pathSOL.
Regardless, Solana’s NFT community has largely ignored the project’s novel approach to minting. Supporters of the new mechanic took to social media to express their disappointment with the NFT community’s apparent apathy.
Commentators noted that network participants have collectively poured thousands of SOL into extractive and malicious actors, but are unwilling to support builders providing meaningful alternatives.
‘Hyped’ New Mint Immediately Under Floor - Are Presales to Blame?
Boasting a sold-out presale that constituted 55% of the total supply, the Hermans NFT collection suffered a similar fate. Priced at 1.5 SOL per NFT, Hermans struggled to attract interest during the public mint, forcing the team to take drastic action.
Hermans trading on secondary marketplaces like Tensor and Magic Eden was locked until the mint was complete, meaning holders were unable to list their assets. The team took it upon themselves to buy all unminted assets. The Hermans’ treasury now holds over 1,600 NFTs, roughly 33% of the supply.
Almost immediately, the collection began trading beneath mint price as presales and regretful minters clamored to liquidate their holdings for SOL. Hermans currently exchange hands at 0.84 SOL, down 44% from the original mint price.
While poor NFT market conditions are a significant contributor to the recent slew of disappointing NFT launches, social media commentators have argued that NFT presales are also to blame.
Low Supply NFT Collections Retain Value
In recent years, NFT markets have witnessed countless large supply collections suffer devastating downtrends.
Top Solana collections like Mad Lads, Tensorians (pictured), and Claynosaurs have all endured significant drawdowns, while dozens of less-resilient projects have effectively plummeted to zero.
Comparatively, low supply and 1/1 NFT collections have retained their value remarkably well. Limited supply art collections like Boogles, Dead King Society, and The SixNine are typically only available through OTC deals and have maintained comparatively stable floors, regardless of SOL price fluctuations.
Arguably, this suggests that the most valuable utility NFTs offer is access to exclusive communities. Alternatively, it could also indicate that low-supply collections with low market liquidity create an elite sense of perceived value, which has supported the valuations of these co
Fresh minting mechanics are bringing greater security to Solana NFTs, but new mints and large collections struggle to garner attention and are trading below mint price.
New NFT collections have learned a painful lesson this week. If it wasn’t obvious due to stagnant floor prices and diminishing trade volume, launching a fresh collection in these conditions is a difficult task.
Despite commentators claiming these hyped collections will usher in a “new era” and whitelist spots selling at over $50 apiece on open markets, launches from Pathfinders and Hermans have failed to meet expectations.
Will Solana’s NFT market ever witness another successful 10,000 NFT collection? Or are small supplies the only way of conserving value?
ONLY 21% OF PATHFINDER'S RISK-FREE NFTs MINTED
Despite proposing a new, risk-free method of launching Solana NFTs, the Pathfinders collection faces difficulty minting out. At press time, only 2,125/10,000 NFTs have been minted, falling well short of expectations.
Pathfinder’s novel LST-backed NFT collection launched with noble intentions. Providing an alternative mechanic that aims to protect minters, the collection has launched Solana’s first un-ruggable NFTs.
Unlike standard NFT mints, Pathfinders NFTs are minted using pathSOL, the project’s native liquid staking token. Holders reserve the right to redeem their NFT for the underlying pathSOL used to mint the asset, essentially securing the NFT’s value at a minimum of 2pathSOL.
Regardless, Solana’s NFT community has largely ignored the project’s novel approach to minting. Supporters of the new mechanic took to social media to express their disappointment with the NFT community’s apparent apathy.
Commentators noted that network participants have collectively poured thousands of SOL into extractive and malicious actors, but are unwilling to support builders providing meaningful alternatives.
‘Hyped’ New Mint Immediately Under Floor - Are Presales to Blame?
Boasting a sold-out presale that constituted 55% of the total supply, the Hermans NFT collection suffered a similar fate. Priced at 1.5 SOL per NFT, Hermans struggled to attract interest during the public mint, forcing the team to take drastic action.
Hermans trading on secondary marketplaces like Tensor and Magic Eden was locked until the mint was complete, meaning holders were unable to list their assets. The team took it upon themselves to buy all unminted assets. The Hermans’ treasury now holds over 1,600 NFTs, roughly 33% of the supply.
Almost immediately, the collection began trading beneath mint price as presales and regretful minters clamored to liquidate their holdings for SOL. Hermans currently exchange hands at 0.84 SOL, down 44% from the original mint price.
While poor NFT market conditions are a significant contributor to the recent slew of disappointing NFT launches, social media commentators have argued that NFT presales are also to blame.
Low Supply NFT Collections Retain Value
In recent years, NFT markets have witnessed countless large supply collections suffer devastating downtrends.
Top Solana collections like Mad Lads, Tensorians (pictured), and Claynosaurs have all endured significant drawdowns, while dozens of less-resilient projects have effectively plummeted to zero.
Comparatively, low supply and 1/1 NFT collections have retained their value remarkably well. Limited supply art collections like Boogles, Dead King Society, and The SixNine are typically only available through OTC deals and have maintained comparatively stable floors, regardless of SOL price fluctuations.
Arguably, this suggests that the most valuable utility NFTs offer is access to exclusive communities. Alternatively, it could also indicate that low-supply collections with low market liquidity create an elite sense of perceived value, which has supported the valuations of these co
7 months ago
Jupiter Exchange has identified the "Bull Checker" Chrome extension as malicious, specifically targeting Solana memecoin traders by draining their tokens -
It has advised immediate removal of this extension.
It has advised immediate removal of this extension.
7 months ago
❌ Malicious chrome extension "bull checker" targets Solana users.
Aggregator Jupiter says it has identified a new malicious browser extension that has already drained the wallets of several Solana users on Reddit by posing as an extension to display all holders of specific memes
https://x.com/jupiterexcha...
Aggregator Jupiter says it has identified a new malicious browser extension that has already drained the wallets of several Solana users on Reddit by posing as an extension to display all holders of specific memes
https://x.com/jupiterexcha...
8 months ago
🚨 The FBI warns against scammers posing as crypto exchange employees to steal funds.
They contact users, claiming urgent account issues to trick them into revealing personal information or clicking on malicious links.
https://x.com/fbilasvegas/...
They contact users, claiming urgent account issues to trick them into revealing personal information or clicking on malicious links.
https://x.com/fbilasvegas/...
8 months ago
Breaking new all-time highs in TVL every month this year, Solana LSTs (Liquid Staking Tokens) have established themselves as one of the fundamental pillars of the ecosystem.
Yet, despite its growing popularity and the wealth of benefits, only 6.4% of all staked SOL is liquid staked, suggesting plenty of Solana users still have some lingering questions about LSTs.
What is liquid staking on Solana? How do Solana LSTs work and why should Solana users consider leveraging LSTs to optimize their DeFi strategies?
With one of Solana's longest-standing protocols launching liquid staking services, there's never been a better time to refresh your knowledge.
What is Liquid Staking MEV?
MEV, or Maximum Extractable Value, is an umbrella term that covers a range of profit-generation strategies and arbitrage opportunities that occur within block production.
For example, by rearranging the order of transactions within a processing queue, MEV tools can profit from mismatched prices in liquidity pools across different DEXes. Some Liquid Staking providers, like Jito, eliminate MEV spam transactions and pass these rewards on to stakers, effectively boosting their staking rewards.
To date, Jito has captured over 31,000 SOL in MEV fees, sharing a percentage of these fees with over 100,000 active accounts who liquid stake their SOL tokens through the Jito protocol.
What are the Benefits of Liquid Staking?
Liquid staking has become a key component of Solana’s DeFi landscape, and for good reason. Here’s why:
1. Earn staking rewards without locking SOL - Solana LSTs make it possible to continue earning generous staking rewards, without losing immediate access to your staked assets.
2. Expanded liquidity and DeFi strategies - Users can leverage their LSTs to capitalize on DeFi yield generation strategies, while still earning staking rewards.
3. Contribute to Solana’s security and decentralization - By liquid staking SOL tokens, users help to further decentralize and secure the Solana network by delegating SOL across a variety of validators.
What are the risks of liquid Staking?
While there are plenty of reasons to use liquid staking on Solana, it’s not without its flaws. Some of the risks associated with Solana LSTs include:
Smart contract risk - LST protocols rely on smart contracts to operate. If any of these contracts is exploited by a malicious actor, stakers could be a
risk of losing their funds.
LST price depeg - Despite typically maintaining their pegged value, LST tokens on other blockchains have fallen victim to temporary price depegs in the past. This could be problematic during black swan events or periods of market turmoil.
Where Can I Liquid Stake my SOL Tokens?
Now that you’ve got a better understanding of how liquid staking on Solana works, let’s recap some of the most reliable and trustworthy liquid staking providers in the market
ANNOUNCING STEPSOL - POWERED BY STEP FINANCE & SANCTUM
STEPSOL
Entering Solana's flourishing LST landscape for the first time, Step Finance is one of the oldest Solana applications in the ecosystem. Doubling as an intuitive portfolio dashboard and a comprehensive DeFi and NFT analytics platform, Step recently expanded its extensive product offering to include its LST, stepSOL.
On top of earning generous APY, stepSOL holders are also eligible to earn additional STEP Reward Options, which are claimable every five days via the Step Finance dashboard. Stakers who've already delegated their SOL to the Step Validator can head to Sanctum's Stake Accounts page and convert their stake account to stepSOL.
What's more, Step Finance has partnered with Meteora and will be offering incentivized rewards through the following pools:
•STEP/stepSOL
•xSTEP/stepSOL
•stepSOL/edgeSOL
Yet, despite its growing popularity and the wealth of benefits, only 6.4% of all staked SOL is liquid staked, suggesting plenty of Solana users still have some lingering questions about LSTs.
What is liquid staking on Solana? How do Solana LSTs work and why should Solana users consider leveraging LSTs to optimize their DeFi strategies?
With one of Solana's longest-standing protocols launching liquid staking services, there's never been a better time to refresh your knowledge.
What is Liquid Staking MEV?
MEV, or Maximum Extractable Value, is an umbrella term that covers a range of profit-generation strategies and arbitrage opportunities that occur within block production.
For example, by rearranging the order of transactions within a processing queue, MEV tools can profit from mismatched prices in liquidity pools across different DEXes. Some Liquid Staking providers, like Jito, eliminate MEV spam transactions and pass these rewards on to stakers, effectively boosting their staking rewards.
To date, Jito has captured over 31,000 SOL in MEV fees, sharing a percentage of these fees with over 100,000 active accounts who liquid stake their SOL tokens through the Jito protocol.
What are the Benefits of Liquid Staking?
Liquid staking has become a key component of Solana’s DeFi landscape, and for good reason. Here’s why:
1. Earn staking rewards without locking SOL - Solana LSTs make it possible to continue earning generous staking rewards, without losing immediate access to your staked assets.
2. Expanded liquidity and DeFi strategies - Users can leverage their LSTs to capitalize on DeFi yield generation strategies, while still earning staking rewards.
3. Contribute to Solana’s security and decentralization - By liquid staking SOL tokens, users help to further decentralize and secure the Solana network by delegating SOL across a variety of validators.
What are the risks of liquid Staking?
While there are plenty of reasons to use liquid staking on Solana, it’s not without its flaws. Some of the risks associated with Solana LSTs include:
Smart contract risk - LST protocols rely on smart contracts to operate. If any of these contracts is exploited by a malicious actor, stakers could be a
risk of losing their funds.
LST price depeg - Despite typically maintaining their pegged value, LST tokens on other blockchains have fallen victim to temporary price depegs in the past. This could be problematic during black swan events or periods of market turmoil.
Where Can I Liquid Stake my SOL Tokens?
Now that you’ve got a better understanding of how liquid staking on Solana works, let’s recap some of the most reliable and trustworthy liquid staking providers in the market
ANNOUNCING STEPSOL - POWERED BY STEP FINANCE & SANCTUM
STEPSOL
Entering Solana's flourishing LST landscape for the first time, Step Finance is one of the oldest Solana applications in the ecosystem. Doubling as an intuitive portfolio dashboard and a comprehensive DeFi and NFT analytics platform, Step recently expanded its extensive product offering to include its LST, stepSOL.
On top of earning generous APY, stepSOL holders are also eligible to earn additional STEP Reward Options, which are claimable every five days via the Step Finance dashboard. Stakers who've already delegated their SOL to the Step Validator can head to Sanctum's Stake Accounts page and convert their stake account to stepSOL.
What's more, Step Finance has partnered with Meteora and will be offering incentivized rewards through the following pools:
•STEP/stepSOL
•xSTEP/stepSOL
•stepSOL/edgeSOL
